Akash Basu is an Associate, Research and Communication at Raahgiri Foundation. Shivani Khurana is Project Associate at Raahgiri Foundation.

Vision Zero is a global movement that aims to end traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries through a systemic approach to road safety. This article discusses the idea of Vision Zero, its relevance to India, and cases of its implementation in Gurugram, Haryana.

What is Vision Zero?

The philosophy behind Vision Zero is that deaths and injuries on the road are completely unacceptable, but also preventable. The movement was first implemented as a national road policy in Sweden in 1997 and has since been adopted by more than 20 cities around the world. At the heart of the Vision Zero strategy is the Safe System, which is a holistic approach to safety that shifts the responsibility for road safety from the people using roads to the people designing them. The Safe System approach integrates various management and action areas to create a road system that is forgiving of human error. This means that even if a mistake is made, the road design should be such that the consequences are not fatal or serious. As the policy concept of Vision Zero gains traction, cities must ensure that the key principles and action areas of the Safe System are applied in a holistic manner, both in policy documents and in practical implementation. This means considering the Safe System approach in its entirety when developing road safety strategies and ensuring that it is tailored to the specific context of each city. By doing so, cities can effectively implement the Vision Zero strategy and work towards eliminating traffic deaths and injuries.

Understanding the Indian context

Road infrastructure in Indian cities have generally geared towards the movement of cars, despite the fact that only a small fraction of the population in our cities actually travel by car. This misalignment of priorities is the main reason why 3 out of 4 road fatalities belong to the vulnerable user group compromising of motorcyclist, pedestrians, and cyclists. It would also explain the discomforting statistic that despite India possessing just 1% of the cars in the world, it accounts for 11% of traffic-related fatalities.

With over 150,000 road traffic deaths annually, and with this number growing or at least staying constant over the last 5 years, Indian roads rank as the most dangerous in the world. A majority of the victims are in the age group of 15 to 45 years, which not only puts a serious burden on their families, but also has a significant impact on the GDP of the country. Various road safety initiatives have been implemented in India, with limited impact. One of the main reasons for the lack of success is that these initiatives are often not backed by strong institutional mechanisms, nor are they unified under a holistic strategy. As India continues to urbanise, it is clear that a comprehensive and systemic approach towards improving the safety of our roads is necessary.

Another aspect to consider is where the burden really lies. According to a World Bank report published in 2021, the severity of an accident is higher for low-income (LIH’s) households than high-income households (HIH’s). As high as 44% of households in rural areas reported at least one death due to a road crash, compared to only 11.6% in urban areas. The socioeconomic burden is also disproportionately borne by poor households. The decline in total household income for LIH’s was reported to be 75%, compared to 54% for HIH’s. The takeaway is not that the problem isn’t serious in urban areas or higher income households, but that the severity of the impact that road crashes have on poorer households is an issue that requires more attention. Intuitively, it is individuals from lower income households that are more likely to travel on foot or bicycle, more likely to use public transport – and therefore, more prone to road accidents. Not only are they facing these accidents on a larger scale, but these individuals’ ability to cope with the loss of a family member is hampered by their financial conditions.

The average cost of an accident for LIH’s is 1.5 Lakh. Not only is this a very large sum for poorer households, but it is also often the primary earner in the family that faces an injury or disability, which leaves a far higher burden. According to the World Bank report, more than 75% of lower-income households have reported a loss in income owing to a road crash or accident. Lack of safety on our streets is putting an added burden to the already heavily burdened section of our society.

Haryana Vision Zero

Over the years, several committees, expert groups, and task-forces have been set up at national, state, and city levels. As a result, various recommendations have been made on the same topic but in vain. In fact, as one reads this article, Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, is debating the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, which aims to address the issue of road safety through stringent legislation. However, even with these initiatives, there has been no real impact on the ground. On the contrary, the number of road fatalities has been increasing meteorically. One of the main reasons things haven’t changed is that most recommendations are around the ‘What’ needs to be done, rather than focussing on “How” to get it done. This is where Haryana Vision Zero, or HVZ as it is known, made a difference.

In terms of road safety, 5,200 lives were lost in Haryana due to road crashes in 2017. This meant that 14 people lost their lives every single day on Haryana’s Roads in 2017. While the state may be ranked 13th place in the total number of fatalities, it ranked at 5th place in terms of the number of fatalities per 100,000 population with 19.22 deaths. To curb the road deaths and injuries, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched Haryana Vision Zero on 2nd May 2017. The model’s aim was to achieve zero road deaths in Haryana by scrutinizing and eliminating technical flaws on roads. Haryana became the first state in India to officially adopt the Vision Zero approach. The Vision Zero approach has been adopted in several parts of the developed world to reduce the number of traffic fatalities to zero by focusing on building forgiving infrastructure and safer roads through a coordinated strategy with all stakeholders involved. This program has been successfully advancing towards its vision to minimize traffic fatalities all over the state through the #SafetyFirst approach.

The program comprised of four key areas of work – engineering, enforcement, education and emergency care. It brought into focus the components of engineering and enforcement to piece together the overall road safety strategy. The action plan functioned on the following 5 pillars:

• Pillar 1: Road Safety Management – Institution and Capacity Building
  Systematic management of political, financial, legislative, legal, regulatory, and institutional environments and developing systems for implementing, monitoring and evaluation of road safety activities.
• Pillar 2: Safer Road Infrastructure
  Establishing safe roads and transport environments through combined measures (engineering and public health) that permit mobility by eliminating or reducing barriers and risks in the road environment
• Pillar 3: Safer Vehicles
  Incorporating better safety features in the design and manufacture of vehicles
• Pillar 4: Safer Road Users
  Revolved around bringing about a behavioural change to accept safe practices using comprehensive programs and multiple approaches
• Pillar 5: Emergency Care
  Aimed to increase responsiveness to post-crash emergencies and improve the ability of health care systems Haryana Vision Zero received the support of the local government and over the 3 years that it was in motion, all districts involved saw at least a 10% decrease in fatality rates on these roads. Road inspections were done to identify crash blackspots, automatic e-challaning was introduced for those for those driving recklessly and more than 500 road safety awareness campaigns were conducted. On top of this, Raahgiri Day was observed in all associated districts to raise awareness around pedestrian and cyclist safety.

Since 2017, over 6500 km of Highways, rural and urban roads were audited, of which 2400 km have been rectified. Police FIRs for 4 years starting January 2016 to December 2019 were analysed through which 488 Blackspots were identified for the duration 2016-18, of which 185 have been rectified. By March 2020, 150+ blackspots had been identified based on 2017-19 FIRs. 1300+ crashes had also been Investigated. The biggest impact of the project so far has been saving the lives of over 400 people and over 1000 persons avoiding grievous injuries due to the reduced number of crashes in the state (estimated). Further, the estimated savings to the state GDP is over Rs. 600 crores, and about 900% return on investments.

Moving forward; Gurugram Vision Zero

Incorporating lessons learnt from Vision Zero programmes around the world, as well as local programmes such as Haryana Vision Zero, the District Administration of Gurugram, in collaboration with Raahgiri Foundation and software company Nagarro, commenced Gurugram Vision Zero in April 2022.

Gurugram Vision Zero (GVZ) is being undertaken by a group of private and government road safety experts. In the first phase, they will review First Incident Reports (FIRs) of road accidents in Gurugram from the last three years, identify the locations where the most accidents have occurred (often called a blackspot), the types of collisions that have occurred, the time and month of the accidents, and other relevant details. In the next phase, they will conduct surveys at the sites where the most accidents have happened, determine the causes of the accidents, and make recommendations to agencies such as the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, National Highways Authority of India, and the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority on engineering changes (which is the main priority) and other measures to improve road safety. Here are 2 projects that have been conducted under Gurugram Vision Zero:

Khushboo Chowk

The intersection of Gurgaon and Faridabad at Khushboo Chowk was declared a blackspot according to  MoRTH criteria in 2022 due to a high number of accidents and fatalities. A total of 13 crashes were recorded, resulting in 9 fatalities and 10 serious injuries. The fatalities included two-wheelers, four- wheelers, cyclists, and pedestrians, indicating that none of the road users were safe while crossing the intersection. The major issues contributing to these accidents were identified as poor geometrical conditions, wider lanes that encouraged overtaking and speeding, obstructions to pedestrian movement, and a lack of speed calming measures. In order to address these issues and improve safety for all road users, including motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, a proposal has been made for the Khushboo Chowk intersection. A trial was also conducted. The proposal includes corrections to the geometry of the intersection, lane balancing to improve traffic flow, safe pedestrian crossings, speed calming measures, signage to inform users, and night safety elements. The aesthetics of the intersection will also be improved by removing unwanted vegetation that might block safe sight distance and by painting the islands to promote safe pedestrian movement and warn vehicles to slow down. Many of these interventions were implemented during the trial and saw great results.

IFFCO Chowk

The recent redesign of IFFCO Chowk in Gurugram was another trial conducted to rectify this area, identified as an accident blackspot. In the last 3 years, this small area has witnessed 13 fatalities, 14 major injuries and numerous unreported minor injuries, the highest number of deaths and accidents at any single location in Gurugram. The project was undertaken by the District Administration of Gurugram, Gurugram Traffic Police and the GMDA, along with support from Raahgiri Foundation and Nagarro.

The issues in the area were clear to see. Prior to redesign, IFFCO Chowk was a signal-free intersection with virtually no facilities setup for the safe movement of pedestrians. The only way for them to cross this road were 2 foot-over-bridges placed 410 metres apart between the intersections and a dingy pedestrian underpass with no ventilation. This meant that pedestrians would instead cross the road directly, having to run past speeding cars.

What was done?

The spot was entirely transformed. 2 portable traffic lights were installed on either side of the road median to ensure that pedestrians can cross the road without the fear of having to share it with moving vehicles. This was accompanied by clear zebra crossing displaying the dedicated crossing areas. Barriers on the median were torn down between the zebra crossings on either side for the ease of pedestrian movement. Further, no-stop signs were installed at points where buses and auto-rickshaws would cause congestion. Instead, dedicated pick-up and drop-off points were provided, making traffic management in the area more efficient. Spring bollards were also placed to provide dedicated space to pedestrians who were previously being forced to walk alongside moving cars. Haryana Vision Zero saved hundreds of lives, and prevented even more serious injuries and disabilities. Using it as a benchmark, the purpose of GVZ is to actively drive home the idea of zero road traffic deaths in the city of Gurugram. To achieve this, the prioritisation of pedestrians, cyclists and 2-wheelers on our roads is essential. The engineering of roads in the city must ensure their safety, and also ensure that human error not be a cause for a death, serious injury or disability.