Road safety: enforcement, engineering and emergency care can cut the toll
Opinion: this editorial reflects the editor's view.
India recorded around 1.7 lakh road deaths in 2024, according to provisional government data, or roughly 400 lives a day. Behind every number is a family. The Telugu states are not spared. In Andhra Pradesh, the number of accidents fell between 2023 and 2024 but deaths rose. In Telangana, the share of accidents that proved fatal fell from 33.4 per cent to 30.6 per cent, a sign that better emergency care and engineering can work. A report on Telangana says about two-thirds of victims are aged 18 to 45, the working years.
Three things are needed. First, consistent enforcement, with cameras and automatic number plate recognition used fairly against speeding, drunk driving and not wearing helmets or seat belts, and with penalties that apply to everyone. Second, better engineering: fixing accident black spots, junction design and signage, and ending illegal median cuts and roadside encroachment. Third, quick care in the 'golden hour' after a crash, with ambulances and trauma centres on every major highway.
Licensing needs reform too. A driving licence should prove skill and not be bought through an agent.
The other side
Critics say fines are sometimes used to raise revenue and can encourage harassment and corruption if enforcement is not transparent. Safety experts add that poor road design and heavy traffic, not just bad driving, cause many crashes, and that the real long-term fix is safer public transport and better planning of cities and highways.
