total number of such deaths in the country

road accident data

TIMES VIEW

NEW DELHI: Potholes claimed six lives on an average on Indian roads every day in 2016 and thewas more than the number of people killed in all types of road accidents in the United Kingdom last year.While Uttar Pradesh recorded a maximum of 714 such fatalities followed by Maharashtra (329) out of a total 2,424 deaths across states.Delhi with the highest share of vehicles did not report any death due to potholes last year. Government data indicate how police rarely investigate the real cause of road crashes and more so the fatal ones. Significantly, last year'scompiled by the road transport ministry put the number of accidents due to potholes at zero despite commuters complaining about potholes on the city roads. The data is based on FIRs lodged by police.Police officers privately admit that cases are hardly filed against road-owning agencies, though in the past couple of years, there has been talk of holding such entities responsible for their faults. " Almost all such cases are entered under the head of drivers' fault or bad road condition. Usually police reach the spot late and the injured die in hospitals," said a former transport commissioner, who was also an IPS officer.Road safety expert Rohit Baluja said even road engineers in Delhi believe that less than 1% of road accidents happen due to engineering faults and or poor maintenance."This is unacceptable. We not only find potholes on roads, but more so at the junctions, which everyone wants to cross quickly. Since there is no warning of such potholes, the minute a motorist sees it he takes sudden left turn to avoid it and ends up hitting another vehicle or getting hit," he added.Baluja pointed out that potholes also cause traffic snarls.In many developed countries, warnings are placed on roads to alert road users about manholes ahead.The Motor Vehicle Amendments Bill has provision for penalty of Rs 1 lakh for road owning agencies if their fault is found to be the reason for an accident.This newspaper has consistently argued that where the negligence of civic authorities causes death or injury to citizens, they must be liable for paying compensation to the victim or his or her family.The compensation must include a component for potential future earnings lost as well as one for the trauma caused. This principle must apply in such cases. The agency responsible for maintaining the roads must of course be liable to pay compensation. But it is crucial that the individuals responsible for the neglect are identified and made to pay a part of the compensation, say 10%. This will have a deterrent effect and make officials take their job seriously.Else, it will just be taxpayer money paying for their sins.