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Road Ahead - Steps Needed to Be Taken
Different sectors of society should come forward and join hands in this direction to make Indian roads a safer journey. This page enlists what different sectors of society can do to make this drive a success.
- Government and the Public Sector can work on:
- Local and Regional Governments can:
- Take a leading role in coordinating the road
safety effort of all relevant agencies and community groups
within their particular administrative area. These activities
should be consistent with the National Road Safety Plan, and
coordinate activity across all relevant agencies in that geographic
area.
- Ensure that planning of local facilities and
residential areas effectively takes account of the road safety
needs of the community.
- Where possible, fund and implement road safety
programs and initiatives.
- Ensure effective policies for the control and
enforcement of liquor laws.
- Communities and Cultural or Ethnic Organizations
can:
- Provide support and leadership for road safety
campaigns and initiatives.
- Demonstrate a concern for the number of road
deaths occurring and a commitment to foster improvements.
- Persuade various communities to accept a greater
participatory role in road safety improvements.
- Work with other organisations in providing road
safety education/publicity and other road safety programmes
- Education Sector can:
- Make a formal commitment to promote effective
road safety education in schools and pre-schools so that appropriate
behaviour is fostered from early age.
- Develop links between schools and other agencies,
such as the MOT, NRSC and police, in relation to road safety.
- Assist in the life-long education of road users.
- Media can:
- Enhance community awareness and understanding
of the causal factors and real costs of road crashes.
- Support road safety initiatives through responsible
and objective reporting.
- Influence societal changes which lead to a reduction
in unacceptable driver behaviour and poor attitudes.
- Police and Enforcement Agencies can:
- Improve road user behaviour and vehicle standards
through a balance of education, encouragement and effective
enforcement strategies.
- Maximise enforcement effectiveness using proven
enforcement systems and technology.
- Maintain a high level of expertise in crash/casualty
reporting.
- Focus on high-risk behaviours and use casualty
and crash data to identify locations and where police enforcement
could minimise such unsafe behaviours.
- Health Agencies and Professionals can:
- Ensure development of effective emergency medical/services.
- Advise patients on their fitness to use the
road, including the effects of prescribed drugs and medication
on road user performance.
- Provide feedback from injury assessment to improve
vehicle occupant protection and road safety policy.
- Provide health promotion road safety programmes.
- Liaise with other practitioners in the road
safety field to avoid duplication of effort.
- Transport and Land-Use Planners can:
- Adopt effective and safe traffic management
measures in planning transport and land-use developments.
- Pay particular attention to the safety requirements
of people with disabilities, older people, children, pedestrians,
bicycle riders and other non -motorised road users in the planning
task.
- Road Engineers and Highway Authorities can:
- Improve the safety performance of the road network
by ensuring that planning, design, construction and maintenance
places a high priority on safety outcomes.
- Apply crash reduction and crash prevention techniques
to create safer road networks for the future.
- Review and safety audit existing, rehabilitated
and new roads to eliminate unnecessary hazardous locations and
misleading/absent markings.
- Insurance Industry can:
- Assist in the development, sponsorship and funding
of crash prevention programmes.
- Provide premium incentives as a means of encouraging
and rewarding safer behaviour.
- Provide feedback to government and regenerative
crash trends and outcomes to assist in the further development
of road safety policy.
- Alcohol and Hospitality Entertainment Industry:
- Adopt responsible standards of alcohol serving
and host responsibility programmes, especially for young adults.
- Assist patrons in monitoring alcohol consumption,
for example, through the use of coin-operated breath testers
and better labeling of alcoholic content of beverages.
- Promote the consumption of low-alcohol beverages
in preference to higher proof drinks.
- Advertise and promote alcohol responsibility.
- Vehicle Manufacturers and Importers can:
- Improve crashworthiness features of vehicles
including enhanced occupant protection.
- Progressively introduce in-vehicle crash avoidance
technology.
- Adopt an advertising code, which promotes the
safety features and safety performance of vehicles and their
responsible use.
- Discontinue importation of crashed vehicles.
Such crashed vehicles must be repaired/restored in the originating
country before being imported into [country name].
- Only vehicles under five years old to be imported
and all vehicles to undergo a mandatory vehicle roadworthiness
inspection before being permitted to use [country name]
roads.
- Heavy Vehicle Transport Industry can:
- Adopt responsible freight forwarding and driving
schedules which permit adequate rest breaks and promote driver
safety.
- Prevent the abuse of alcohol and drug stimulants
and promote healthy lifestyle habits amongst drivers.
- Ensure high standards of vehicle, mechanical
safety, and load stability and security.
- Enhance industry professionalism and safety
through improved fleet management.
- Driver Training Providers can:
- Require all learner vehicles to display signs.
- Equip learner and novice drivers with the necessary
skills, attitudes and behaviour needed to drive safely on our
roads.
- Maintain and foster a high standard of driver
training, instruction and professionalism.
- Promote and foster the upgrading of driving
skills amongst drivers, particularly drivers of heavy and public
service vehicles.
- Establish an Association and enhance industry
professionalism by developing a Code of Providers teaching materials,
Driving Instructors training programmes, etc., for their members.
- Motoring Associations can:
- Promote road safety amongst their memberships
by providing up-to-date and relevant information on traffic
laws, safe driver behaviour and techniques, road conditions,
maintenance procedures and vehicle safety.
- Support, promote and sponsor effective road
safety initiatives and campaigns.
- Provide membership feedback to government and
industry on road safety policy and new initiatives.
- Advertisers can:
- Discourage advertising which glamorizes and/or
promotes unsafe practices and products.
- Actively encourage safer practices and products.
- Researchers/Universities can:
- Ensure that there is a balance between research
on basic and applied topics.
- Ensure that road safety research is of high
quality, timely and that its implications are identified and
promoted.
- Ensure the development of high quality databases.
- Evaluate effectiveness of measures implemented
to ensure cost effective expenditure.
- Provide reliable research results and knowledge
against which policy decisions can be made.
- All Organization can:
- Develop internal safety policies for their staff
including host responsibility.
- Promote safe practices in fleet operation.
- Larger fleet operators can encourage staff to
participate in defensive driving courses, and where feasible,
sponsor or buy in defensive driving courses for own staff at
own premises.
- Individual Road Users can:
- Attain a greater understanding, awareness, and
practice of safe behavior and skills.
- Make a personal commitment to improve road safety
by adopting more courteous and considerate road behavior and
demonstrating care for the safety of others.
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