Govt should invest more in road safety: IIT-M study

A research conducted by the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) has asked the Government to invest more in road safety to reduce the impact of accidents on the economy.

The study, authored by Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian, Faculty, Department of Engineering Design, IIT-M and Dr. Nijina M Nazar, Senior Project Scientist, Department of Engineering Design, IIT-M, was released on Sunday by Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian.

Titled ‘Socio-Economic Costs of Road Crashes in Tamil Nadu,’ the study was undertaken by the Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS)/ RBG Labs of IIT-M and has come out with three different estimates of the socio-economic impact.

These estimates have been calculated considering medical costs, loss of taxation revenue, which is also considered as production loss, human costs, damages to the vehicle, civil damages, and administrative costs such as police, insurance, legal.

“The hidden truth in all accidents is the costs involved and this study by the Centre of Excellence for Road Safety in IIT Madras can sensitise the Government and public on these costs. Government can use this study in identifying the implicit costs of an accident, use it towards improved financial planning and appropriately invest on initiatives to strengthen road safety in the State,” the minister said.

One of the highlights of the study is that it includes travel delay costs due to road crashes and efficiency tax, which are costs that the Government may have to impose on the society to revive the economy after incurring these huge costs, the institute said.

Elaborating on this study, Prof. Balasubramanian said initiatives on road safety are common across all Governments globally and that the quantum of investment required is currently made from a welfare state model.

“From a cost to economy perspective, this study can help policymakers calibrate and plan for higher targeted investment on initiatives. More specifically, the investments focused on addressing public health issues starting from evacuating a victim from an accident scene to rehabilitation can be viewed from a perspective of comprehensive cost to society,” he said.

The total impact in financial terms has been arrived at using the hybrid human capital approach method, which uses the present value of potential earnings of the victim met with the accident, the IIT-M said. The study also said Tamil Nadu’s socio-economic cost of road traffic crashes for the year 2019 was in the range of Rs 21,078.83 crore to Rs 56,543.29 crore

Check out latest videos from DH: