Priyanka Saurabh
In 2021, India reported 4,03,116 accidents, each of which adversely affected the environment in different ways and to varying degrees. Transport is the leading mode of transport in terms of traffic share and contribution to the national economy. The expansion of road networks, motorization, and urbanization in the country has led to an increase in road accident deaths. About 22.5 (twenty-two point five) million vehicles are expected to be phased out in India by 2025.The major causes of road accidents are negligence and exposure (speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol, etc.), talking on mobile phones, and overloading to save the cost of transportation.
Lack of awareness about the importance of safety features like airbags, anti-lock braking systems, etc. Inadequate signaling is the main cause of road accidents. Speeding is the cause of 69.3(sixty-nine point three)% of deaths. 30.1(thirty point one)% of the deaths occurred due to not wearing a helmet.
11.5 (eleven point five)% of deaths were due to the non-use of seatbelts.
Looking at the environmental impact of vehicle accidents, most vehicles contain toxic metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium, which are harmful to the environment. Fuel and fluid leakage at accident sites and serious road accidents cause automobile wreckage, which becomes a part of unusable end-of-life vehicles.
Among the issues with the National Automobile Scrappage Policy, 2021 is the lack of comprehensive, systematic facilities dedicated to proper recycling. After road accidents, along with vehicles, old vehicles are also left to rot on the roadside. In landfills or at informal recycling facilities where basic hand tools are used to unscientifically destroy them. This leads to the leakage of dangerous components such as oil, coolant, and glass wool. Vehicle landfills turn into automobile cemeteries leading to wasteful and sub-optimal land use and water and soil pollution.
Overspeeding was responsible for 69.3(sixty-nine point three)% of all road accident deaths recorded in 2020. Responsible for more than 60% of all road accidents in India in the last five years. Lowering the motorway speed limit by 10 km/h could result in 12% to 18% fuel savings for current technology passenger cars. A significant reduction in pollutant emissions from diesel vehicles, especially nitrogen oxides and particulate matter (PM) production, has been shown where the speed limit was reduced from 100 km/h to 80 km/h, PM significantly reduced air quality Decreased up to 15%.
The highway speed limit of 96.5 (ninety-six point five) km/h is 25% more efficient than the 120 km/h limit, in which case air resistance causes more fuel consumption.
The Zero-fatality Corridor (ZFC) program on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in 2016 helped bring down road accident deaths by 52% by 2020. Old Mumbai-Pune Highway (2018): It helped reduce road accident deaths on this stretch by 61% by 2021.
Guarding natural hard structures such as trees by using crash barriers to prevent head-on collisions Placing retro-reflective signage on trees to make them more visible to passers-by.
Many governments globally have reduced speed limits to prevent accidents and reduce air pollution. Zero-fatality corridor solution In India, the Zero-fatality corridor solution for road safety by SaveLife Foundation (SLF) takes environmental sustainability seriously.It focuses on reducing speed through advanced engineering and actuation techniques.
Creating green corridors to go over forests and animal tracks instead of passing through them. Increasing this will have a profound impact on the conservation of the environment while ensuring better road connectivity.Use of aluminum composite panels instead of asbestos to manufacture signage Because asbestos hurts the environment, the program opts for only long-lasting, high-quality, non-hazardous materials for signage. Safe roads and a sustainable environment can be ensured only with the combined efforts of road-owning agencies, enforcement officials, and the public.
