Future of road safety and SDG 3.6 goals in six Indian cities

Abstract

In this paper, we use estimates of the effectiveness of existing road safety technologies and interventions to estimate the reduction in road safety deaths in six Indian cities over the next decade, in order to achieve the SDG 3.6 goal of a 50% reduction by 2030. Only the existing interventions are considered and technologies that might be available in the future are not accounted for. The results show that similar policies for all cities will not produce the same results, and that achieving the SDG 3.6 goal does not automatically reduce fatality rates in cities with high fatality rates. The introduction of safer cars with currently available safety technologies, although necessary, will have much less effect than the combined effect of motorcycle safety technologies, speed control and traffic calming. This study suggests that while SDG 3.6 targets may be satisfied by 2030 with great effort in India, the presently available safety interventions may not be adequate to bring about death rates below 2.0 per hundred thousand persons. Since the situation differs significantly between cities, it will be important to evolve city-specific policies for safety intervention priorities and changes in travel behavior. The desired reduction in road traffic injuries in India will not be possible without much greater investment in road safety research and road design for safer travel.

Keywords

• Road safety
• India
• Safety interventions
• Cities
• Sustainable development goals