Parliament, not fate, must shape road safety, Pg13

Key Highlights:

• Official reports for 2024 indicated between 1.75 lakh and 1.81 lakh road accident deaths in India, highlighting a significant variance in data collection.
• The Supreme Court in S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India (2014) recognized road accidents as preventable and linked their persistence to governance failures.
• The Court identified critical shortcomings across the "four Es" of road safety: Engineering, Enforcement, Education, and Emergency Care.
• The article argues that the high number of preventable road deaths constitutes a constitutional failure, infringing upon the Right to Life under Article 21.
• Constitutional fragmentation, with road safety responsibilities divided across the Union List, State List, and Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule, is cited as a primary cause for the ongoing issue.
• A Road Safety Coordination Council, modeled after the GST Council, and amendments to the Seventh Schedule are proposed as structural reforms.

Detailed Insights:

• India records more road accident fatalities than any other country globally, despite having a comparatively smaller share of the world's vehicle population.
• The Supreme Court noted that highway maintenance received only 35-40% of its estimated funding, and emergency care infrastructure was severely inadequate.
• The Court emphasized that road accidents are not random misfortunes but are products of human failure, making them inherently preventable.
• Road safety elements like national highways (Union List), state roads and police (State List), and motor vehicles (Concurrent List) fall under different legislative domains.
• This jurisdictional fragmentation ensures that no single institution holds clear responsibility for preventing future accidents.
• The 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, which established the GST Council to streamline fragmented tax revenues, is presented as a precedent for a similar road safety reform.
• A proposed Road Safety Coordination Council would enable the Centre and states to jointly establish standards for road design, vehicle fitness, emergency care, and fatality reporting.
• Amending the Seventh Schedule would consolidate legislative authority over roads and traffic, providing a stronger foundation for national road safety policies.
• The article also advocates for the statutory establishment of District Road Safety Committees with defined powers and accountability mechanisms for states.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Article 21: Guarantees the fundamental Right to Life and Personal Liberty, which the article connects to the state's responsibility to prevent avoidable deaths.
• Seventh Schedule: A part of the Constitution of India that divides legislative powers between the Union and State governments into three lists: Union List, State List, and Concurrent List.
• S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India (2014): A landmark Supreme Court case that extensively addressed the systemic issues contributing to road accidents in India.
• GST Council: A constitutional body established under the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act to make recommendations on Goods and Services Tax, serving as a model for inter-governmental coordination.