Gadkari blames faulty road designs, civil mistakes for increasing road accidents in India

New Delhi: Pointing out the faulty detailed project reports (DPRs) and defective road designs are also reasons for increasing road accidents, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday suggested the road construction industry to develop strategies to enhance road safety by adopting newer technologies.

"Most of the road accidents happen in the country due to small civil mistakes, faulty DPRs and nobody is held accountable," Gadkari said while addressing Global Road Infratech Summit & Expo (GRIS).

"Even small things like road signages and marking systems are very poor in India. We need to learn from countries like Spain, Austria and Switzerland," the road transport and highways minister added.

The minister also called upon the road construction industry to develop strategies to enhance road safety by adopting newer technologies and sustainable recyclable construction materials.

Gadkari pointed out that worst quality DPRs are made in India, holding engineers largely responsible for the rise in the number of road accidents due to poor planning and design.

"This gives me a feeling that basically the engineers are responsible for increasing road accidents. So, the main problem is road engineering and defective planning, and defective DPRs,” he said.

Highlighting that India witnessed 1,80,000 deaths due to road accidents in 2023 Gadkari said that the government aims to reduce the number of road accidents by 50 per cent by 2030.

Also speaking at the event, International Road Federation (IRF) president emeritus K K Kapila said that by prioritising safety in every aspect of road design, construction, and management, this summit seeks to move towards a future where road accidents become a rarity, ultimately aiming for zero fatalities.