25% of 4.8 lakh road accidents happen during work-related commuting in India every year
Nov 17, 2017
'This is important for companies to develop
culture for road safety among its employees': FICCI-EY Report
NEW
DELHI, 17 November 2017: In year 2016 nearly 1.5 lakh people died and many more were
injured as a result of accidents on India roads. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), road traffic injuries are the seventh leading cause of
death in India. India accounts for 10% of global road deaths. During the
calendar year 2016, there were close to 4.8 lakh road accidents in India,
or one road accident every minute and one road accident
related death every 4 minutes.
25% road
accidents primarily happen during work-related commute. This should make
corporates more serious about the road safety of their employees. Road crash
injuries / fatalities impact the personal, social and economic lives. While
direct financial losses due to accidents can be measured, indirect costs
resulting from a victim���������s inability to continue earning is difficult to measure
and empathize.
According
to a study by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (UNESCAP) covering 19 Asia-Pacific countries, the impact of road
accidents on the Indian economy was 3% of GDP or over US $58,0004 million in
terms of value in the year 2015. India is only behind Japan (US$63,000 million)
in terms of value, while in terms of GDP loss it comes behind Iran, which is at
6% (US$30,697 million).
To combat
road safety problems, WHO has defined a multi-prong approach for road safety
with focus on four E���������s: Education, Enforcement, Engineering and Emergency. This
is about creating awareness pertaining to road safety rules, ensuring better
regulations and compliances to follow traffic rules, improving road
infrastructure and ensuring aid to road crash victims in the platinum/golden
hour (30/60 minutes after road crash).
Role of corporates in promoting road safety in India across 4 Es
A total of
36% of occupational deaths worldwide are due to road crashes. Investing in road
safety programs for employees can benefit corporates by improving employee
safety, protecting their own assets, decreasing productivity losses and
enhancing the company���������s perception in the eyes of its own employees.
It is also
important that companies develop a culture that fosters and inspires road
safety among its employees.
Employees���������
safety is a wide-ranging requirement, and the approach should be practical and
collaborative in nature. A simple ���������Plan, Do, Check, Act��������� (P-D-C-A) approach can
be followed by corporates to ensure their employees��������� safety on the road. To
manage road safety in the organization under PDCA, prioritize and evaluate
risks, consult employees and provide training and information, measure success
and deviation of road safety plan, and learn from experience and take actions.
Also, a
government-corporate collaboration for road safety initiatives may result in a
win-win situation. Wherein the government can benefit from innovation, data,
reach and financial resources of businesses while businesses can benefit from
safer roads, better laws and vehicle standards for increased road safety of
their employees.
Mr. G K
Pillai Chair, FICCI Committee on Homeland Security said, ���������FICCI
believes that involving India Inc. can further boost the efforts of the
government. The United Nations has proclaimed 2011-20 as the Decade of Action
on Road Safety, hence there is a need for collective action by the Government,
Industry and Civil Society���������.
Download FICCI-EY Report "Road safety across 4 Es:
The corporate guide": click here
FICCI MEDIA DIVISION
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