Each traffic accident death causes nearly seven months of depletion of family income in poor families and pushes victims’ relatives into a cycle of poverty and debt in India, according to a new World Bank report.
The report, “Road Traffic Injuries and Disabilities: The Burden on Indian Society”, examined accident cases and the corresponding families of victims spread across four states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, representing the 35% of deaths from traffic accidents. —Finding a link between road fatalities and poverty, inequality and vulnerable road users in India.
India sees around 4.5 lakh of road accidents resulting in 1.5 lakh of deaths every year.
In the survey, more than 75 percent of poor households reported a decrease in their income as a result of a traffic accident. About 64 percent of low-income households reported a decline in their standard of living (more than twice as reported by high-income households), while more than 50 percent reported depression after the accident.
Highlighting the disproportionate impact on women, the report found that women in victims’ families bore the burden in rich and poor households, often taking on additional work, taking on greater responsibilities, and performing caregiving activities.
Approximately 50% of women were seriously affected by the decline in family income after an accident. About 40 percent of the women reported a change in their work patterns after the accident, while about 11 percent reported taking additional work to cope with the financial crisis.
The study, conducted in collaboration with the NGO SaveLIFE Foundation, assesses the social, financial, gender and psychological impacts of traffic accidents on poor and disadvantaged households.
The report recommends policy-oriented approaches to saving lives and improving the ability of victims and their families to recover, including the provision of immediate financial, medical and legal assistance.
Releasing the report on Saturday, Union Road Transportation and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari called the findings “revealing.”
“I am committed to reducing traffic fatalities by 50 percent by 2025,” he said, adding that very soon the authors of the report and top officials from the Ministry of Highway and Highway Transport would meet to discuss how policies Governments on Road Safety can benefit from the key findings of the study results.
The report also highlights the sharp divide between rural and urban areas. The survey shows that the income decline for low-income rural households (56 percent) was the most severe compared to low-income urban households (29.5 percent) and high-income rural households (39, 5 percent).
“The findings identify areas that require immediate improvement, such as efforts toward protocols and emergency care after an accident, insurance systems and compensation. It also presents an opportunity for development agencies, policy makers, and respective state governments to prioritize a comprehensive review of the existing system’s policies and implement inclusive measures geared towards sustainable solutions to improve their road safety performance, ”he said. Piyush Tewari from the SaveLIFE Foundation.
The study also revealed low rates of access to insurance coverage and little awareness of legal redress among truck drivers.
Two-thirds of the truck drivers interviewed for the survey were unaware of liability insurance. None of the drivers had applied for or benefited from cashless treatment in hospitals, the Solatium Runaway Fund or ex gratia plans.
“Traffic accidents can have a devastating and disproportionate impact on the poor, pushing a family into deep poverty,” said Hartwig Schafer, World Bank vice president for the South Asia region. “The World Bank is committed to supporting the government of India in creating safety nets for poor households to ease their financial burden and help them cope with the sudden emergency related to road accidents,” he added.
The report recommends making health coverage and infrastructure more accessible and inclusive; provide a social safety net for low-income home accident victims through state support; create an accessible legal framework to make use of insurance and compensation for victims of traffic accidents; recognize the gender impact of traffic accidents and address it through participatory governance and special schemes for women; and strengthening post-accident support for children and young adults through state support.
The study interviewed around 2,500 respondents, including 1,647 from low-income households, 432 from high-income households, and 420 truck drivers in the four selected states (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar represent the low-capacity states and Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra represent high capacity). States) in urban and rural areas. The qualitative part of the study included focus group discussions with traffic accident survivors and their families and in-depth interviews with adolescents aged 14 to 18 years.
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