ROAD ACCIDENTS – ITS ROOT CAUSES AND

FINANCIAL REPERCUSSIONS ON FAMILY AND

SOCIETY

A STUDY WITH REFERENCE TO KERALA

Minor Research Project Submitted By

DEEPA K.A
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
M.E.S ASMABI COLLEGE,
P.VEMBALLUR, KODUNGALLUR,
THRISSUR DIST
KERALA

Submitted to
The University Grants Commission
South West Regional Office
Bangalore

1
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Smt. DEEPA K.A, Assistant Professor, PG

Department of Commerce, M.E.S Asmabi College, P.Vemballur,
Kodugnallur has carried out the project entitled “Road Accidents- Its Root
Causes and Financial Repercussions on Family and Society- A study
with reference to Kerala ” undertaken by a minor research project under
UGC. This project is an independent work and does not constitute part of
any material submitted for any project.

Principal
Place : P.Vemballur M.E.S Asmabi College,
Date: P.Vemballur, Kodungallur
Thrissur, Kerala

2
 DECLARATION

I, Deepa K.A, do hereby that this written account entitled “Road

Accident – Its Root causes and Financial repercussions on Family and

Society- A Study with reference to Kerala” is a bonafide record of minor

research work done by me. I also declare that the minor research project

report has not been submitted by me fully or partly for the award of any

degree, diploma, title or recognition before.

Deepa K.A

Place:

Date:

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The project titled “Road Accidents – Its Root Causes and Financial
Repercussions on Family and Society- A study with reference to Kerala” is a minor
research project work done under UGC.

First of all I would like to express my sincere and profound gratitude to God
Almighty for making this project a reality.

I take this opportunity to thank Dr. K. Shaji, Principal in charge, M.E.S Asmabi
College, P.Vemballur for his constant encouragement, guidance & invaluable support
throughout the course of this project are being thankfully acknowledged. I am also
grateful for his moral support in taking much interest in this project.

I express my gratitude to Sri. K.A. Abdul Kalam (Head of the Department, PG

Department of Commerce), Dr. K.P. Sumedhan, Sri. Shafeer P.S & and other faculty
members of the commerce department for their valuable support and guidance. I am
also grateful to Sri. Prasanth A.P, Research scholar for his valuable advice and support.

I express also my gratitude to the Librarian ,M.E.S Asmabi College, P.

Vemballur for providing me the library facilities.

I express my gratitude to the staff of the Pearls Net Computer Centre, P-

Vemballur, Kodungallur for printing this report legibly.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my family and all my friends
for their love, affection, co-operation & support throughout my project work period &
making this project successful.

Deepa K A

4
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLES PAGE

NO. NO.

1 INTRODUCTION 1-8

2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 9-19

3 CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTS AND ITS 20-50

IMPACT

4 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 51-63

5 FINDINGS,SUGGESTIONS AND 64-70

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

5
 LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO. TITLES PAGE NO.

Socio-economic status of
4.1 Respondents 51-53

Table showing Financial

4.2 Repercussions of Road accidents to 56
the Individual.

Table showing Financial

4.3 Repercussions of Road accidents on 58
the family.

Table showing Root Causes of Road

4.4 Accidents in Kerala from 2010-2014. 59

Table showing the Number of road

accidents, Death, Injury and
4.5 Disability and their Trends from 61
2010-2014.

6
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

7
 INTRODUCTION

Transport plays an important role in the economic development of any region.

Economic growth that result in higher incomes and a rising living standards are expected

to create greater demands for travel for both work and non-work/leisure purposes. This is

turn can create congestion and reliability problems on the transport network, increasing

costs on business and damaging quality of life. As road transport provides door-to-door

connection and flexible movement of goods and passengers, its patronage by people are

on the rise day by day. The quality of life now greatly depends on the quality of roads.

Road accidents are one of the major causes of death, injury and disability in all

over the world both in developed and developing countries. With a broad estimate, in

every one minute, two people are killed and 95 people are severely injured or

permanently disabled in traffic accidents worldwide. Traffic accident related deaths and

injuries result in not only substantial economic losses but also serious physical and mental

sufferings. Developing countries are much more affected from traffic than developed

countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, 75 Per cent of

deaths resulted from traffic accidents occurring in developing countries, although they

own only 32 Per cent of the motor vehicles in the world. While the annual fatality per

10,000 vehicles ranges from 20 to 200 in low or middle income countries, it varies

between 1.5 and 5 in industrialized countries. The estimated global economic cost of

traffic accidents is $518 billion per year. The share of the developing countries is $100

billion which accounts for 1 to 3 Per cent of their gross national product. Road traffic

crashes occur on all continents and in every country of the world. Every year they take

the lives of more than a million people and incapacitate many millions more. Pedestrians,

users of non-motorized vehicles–including bicycles, rick-

8
shaws, carts and motor cyclists in low–income and middle–income countries carry

a large proportion of the global burden of road traffic death and serious injury.

India's record in road deaths has risen to at least 14 deaths per hour in 2008

against 13 the previous year. The total annual deaths due to road accidents have crossed

1.18 lakhs, according to the latest report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

While trucks/lorries and two-wheelers were responsible for over 40 Per cent deaths, the

rush during afternoon and evening hours were the most fatal phases. Traffic experts are

alarmed over the shooting trend of fatalities on roads between 2003 and 2008, and

progressive states having a significant share of road fatalities. While the toll was only

84,430 in 2003, it crossed 1.18 lakhs in 2008, an increase of nearly 40 Per cent in Andhra

Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu reported 12 Per cent , 11 Per cent and 10.8 Per cent

respectively of total road accident deaths in the country. In India, statistics on road

accidents indicate over 1, 30,000 deaths and 5, 00,000 injuries occur annually. In 2007

Tamilnadu recorded over 59140 road accidents followed by Maharashtra 51975,

Karnataka 46334, Andhra Pradesh 43,594 and Kerala 39861 (NCRB 2007).

Kerala State is blessed with high literacy rate, better health care, and higher

density of population distribution and connectivity of roads to all villages. Kerala is one

of the leading states in high rate of road accidents and injuries. Road accidents are

considered to be the third major cause of death in the state. Vehicles become weapons of

mass destruction in Kerala. Kerala has one of the highest per-capita consumption of

alcohol in the country. There has been no respite from accidental deaths for God’s own

country, despite strict enforcement of traffic rules. Though the number of accidental and

deaths has come down slightly, the rate is still alarming.

9
 Road traffic accidents are a human tragedy. They involve high human sufferings

and socio-economic costs in terms of premature deaths, injuries, loss of productivity etc.

The various causes of road accidents are:

1. Drivers - Over speeding, rash driving, violation of rules, failure to understand signs,

Fatigue etc.

2. Pedestrian - Carelessness, illiteracy, crossing at wrong places, moving on carriage

way.

3. passengers - Projecting their body outside vehicle, by talking to drivers, alighting &

boarding vehicle from side travelling on footboards, catching a running bus etc.

4. Road Users - Excessive speed and rash driving, violation of traffic rules, failure to

perceive traffic situation or sign or signal in adequate time, carelessness, fatigue, alcohol,

sleep etc.

5. Vehicle - Defects such as failure of brakes, steering system, tyre burst, lighting system,

overloading, projecting etc.

6. Road Condition - Skidding road surface, pot holes, ruts, merging of rural roads with

highways, diversion etc.

7. Road design - Defective geometric design like inadequate sight distance, inadequate

width of shoulders, improper curve design, improper traffic control devices and improper

lighting,.

8. Weather conditions - Fog, snow, heavy rainfall, wind storms, hail storms etc.

10
9. Environmental factors - Unfavourable weather conditions like mist, snow, smoke and

heavy rainfall which restrict normal visibility and makes driving unsafe.

10. Other causes - Improper location of advertisement boards, gate of level crossing not

closed when required etc.

NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

Traffic accidents are a major cause of death and injuries worldwide, but while

they are declining in many parts of the developed world, fatalities are still on the rise in

many developing countries including in India. Kerala is one of the top States in the case

of road accidents. In our state more than half of the road accident victims are in the age

group of 20-55, the key wage earning and child raising age group. The loss of the main

breadwinner and head of household due to death or disability can be catastrophic, leading

to lower living standards and poverty. This study is an attempt to highlight the root causes

of road accidents and its impact on the life of the victims and society. The study analyses

requisite statistical data to find out the root causes of accidents, financial impact on the

family of the victims in order to reduce the road accidents at its maximum.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Road traffic accident data analysis is an important tool for determining the main

safety problems towards which measures should be directed. These days, road safety has

become a major concern in most modern societies. Road accidents can never be totally

stopped, but with the help of reduced speed limits, increasing the safety of vehicles, the

determination of road locations that are more dangerous than others, Pavement marking,

finding the accident rates and increasing the minimum age to

11
drive can all help in preventing road accidents and road safety policies .It could be

notable that the roads are occupies an eminent position in transportation and carry nearly

65 Per cent of freight and 87 Per cent of passenger traffic. Traffic on roads is growing at a

rate of 7 to 10 Per cent per annum while the vehicle population growth, for the past few

years, is of the order of 12 Per cent per annum. Moreover, the lengths of roads show the

prosperity of the nation. The prosperity brigades of a nation normally comprise of

intelligentsia, hard labour, infrastructures available and lastly smooth functioning of its

roads. However, with the positive qualities, there by -product of transportation is

pollution and accidents. In India, the total cost of losses due to road accidents are in the

range of Rs. 400-500 crores a day. The estimated cost includes compensation, asset loss,

time and energy spent on police, hospital and court cases etc. But we cannot measure

these sufferings in terms of money. The loss to the nation due to the ever-increasing

accidents is infinite, eating into the economics of the nation. Today the accident rate is

high and a large number of persons are killed or injured. Moreover, it will affect

environment, nation’s economic status, and society. Kerala has become the second most-

accident-prone state in the country. Vehicles become weapons of mass destruction in

Kerala. This text depicts that more number of persons are killed in road accident because

many do not follow road rules and regulations. By and large, it is urgent to control road

traffic accident as its impact on the family and society is significant. In this context, the

researcher wants to find out the root causes of increasing road accidents in Kerala, which

is the major reason for death among youth and to know the financial repercussions of

road accidents in the personal life of victims.

12
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The present study is to investigate the following

1. To identify the root causes of increasing road accidents in Kerala, which is the

major reason for death among youth.

2. To know the financial repercussions of road accidents in the personal life of the

victims.

3. To find out the rate of death, injury and disability due to road accident.

4. To know the impact of road accidents on the society.

5. To find out the remedial measures to reduce the number of road accidents in

Kerala.

HYPOTHESES

Following are the hypotheses formulated for the present study

1. There is no significant change in the financial status of the victims before and

after the road accident.

2. There is no relationship between the age and road accident.

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

In order to achieve the objectives of the study and to test hypotheses, both primary

and secondary data were used. Primary data relating to the causes of accident, financial

repercussions of the accident and the impact of road accident on the family were collected

from the selected victims of accident through an interview schedule. For this a

questionnaire was developed for reliable and first hand data collection. Data were

13
collected from a sample size of 200 respondents living in Kerala. For this, the state was

divided into three zones such as Northern, Central and Southern districts of Kerala.

Southern Districts consists of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha,

Kottayam and Idukki. Central zone consists of Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad

Districts. North zone consists of Malappuram, Kozhikkode, Wayanad, Kannur and

Kasargodu Districts. From each zone a sample district on which the highest rate of

accident occurred was selected. The respondents of the study were the accident victims of

the period from 2010 -2014.Convenience sampling method was used for data collection.

Secondary data were collected from books, journals, periodicals, leading newspapers,

websites etc. The collected data were analysed with the help of statistical tools like tables,

Per cent ages, trend analysis, CAGR, mean, standard deviation, correlation, chi-square

test etc. The hypotheses were analysed for drawing final conclusion.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is to analyse the root cause of road accidents and its impact on the

personal life of the victims in Kerala state. The state was divided into three zones such as

northern, central and southern districts. Southern districts consists of

Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Idukki. Central

zone consists of Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad districts. North zone consists of

Malappuram, Kozhikkode,Wayanad,Kannur and Kasargodu districts. From each zone a

sample district was selected on the basis of number of accidents i.e. the most accident

occurred district.

14
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

1. The study covers only Kerala state.

2. The sample size is limited to 200 accident victims only. So the sampling errors

may be there.

3. The study comprises both primary and secondary data. So the reliability of

findings may depend on both the data.

4. The study does not take into account the type of vehicle involved in the accident

and the time in which most of the accident occurred.

CHAPTER SCHEME

The study will be arranged in five different chapters.

Chapter I – Introduction

Chapter II – Review of literature

Chapter III – causes of road accidents and its impact

Chapter IV – Data analysis and interpretation

Chapter V – Findings, Suggestions and conclusion

15
 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

16
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. Rao, R. Prabhakar (1981), State Transport industry needs an organization which can

mobilize finances from the various sources to the extent of about Rs. 500 crores

annually and channel the same to State Transport Undertakings. So it was easier for

them to plan their future growth. An organization like the shipping development fund

will have a limitation in that the resources available are only the funds provided by

Government along with the interest and repayment thereon. It may not be able to raise

funds from financing institutions. Further, State Transport Corporations already is

getting Central Government’s Contribution directly under a provision in the Road

Transport Corporation Act and they would both be interested in channelising the same

funds through the Committee. It would therefore be desirable to continue the flow of

Central Government’s Capital Contributions to STUs as present by channelising the

same through the Ministry of Shipping & Transport and not through Railway

Board.The constitution of “TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT FINANCE

DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION” as a statutory corporation/company, with

suitable equity base to be provided by the Central Government, State Government &

Financing Institution.

2. Jacobs, GD and Sayer, (1983), by the early 1970s countries of the Third World was

becoming increasingly aware that they faced a growing road safety problem. In 1972,

following numerous requests made by developing countries for aid and guidance in

the road safety field, a small research team was formed within the Overseas Unit of

the Transport and Road Research Laboratory. The aim of this team was to undertake

research in Third World countries with a view to establishing the nature and extent of

their traffic accident problems and, in the longer term to assess the effectiveness of

remedial measures. The paper describes some of the major findings of this research

17
 team. Research work carried out by the Overseas Unit TRRL has shown that road

accident fatality rates (i.e. deaths per 10,000 vehicles licenced) are high in developing

countries”, very often 20 times greater than for those countries of Western Europe and

North America .Perhaps even more worrying was the fact that whereas fatality rates in

developed countries have decreased steadily over the last twenty years, those in a

considerable number of developing countries have increased. In many Third World

countries a major road safety problem may be present that does not exist at all in

Western Europe and North America – accidents involving para-transit forms of public

transportation. Thus in Surabaya, the second city of Indonesia, 17 per cent of Major

casualties was drivers or passengers of betjaks (cycle rickshaws).

3. K. C. Pant (2001), focuses his attention on the development of road sector and

stressed begin with quality. Road development is expensive but it has many benefits

in conserving the future resources. According to Pant the poor financial conditions of

the SEB was a major constraint in achieving financial closures. Power sector reforms

are therefore the crying need of the hours.

4. Dinesh Mohan (2002), there has been a few attempts in India to estimate the costs of

road traffic crashes over the past few decades. But, these have followed very simple

economic models to include actual expenses and direct and indirect loss of income

etc. One of the early studies which attempted to evaluate road accident costs was

conducted for Delhi for the year 1968 and another study calculated accident costs

based on insurance company data for Chennai (Madras) for the year 1978.The first

major Road User Cost Study (RUCS) was published in India in 1982. This study,

sponsored by the World Bank, included a section on accidents as a component of road

user cost. The costs include where: medical expenses, legal fees, property damage,

insurance costs, and loss of output due to death (future consumption as one-third of

18
 income and future output calculated up to the age of 55 years). The latest study on

evaluation of road accident costs was sponsored by the Ministry of Surface Transport

(Roads Wing, Research Scheme R-79) and conducted by M/s Tata Consultancy

Services. The life expectancy of Indians was assumed to be 54 years. This is a serious

technical error, as this was the life expectancy at birth at that time. Since very large

proportions (approximately 40 per cent) of deaths were at ages below 4 years the life

expectancy at birth in India was lower than that at 10 years. If they had calculated the

life expectancy of Indians at 5 years they would have found that it was in the region

of 70 rather than 54 years. According to their sample only 7 per cent of the victims

were under 10 years. Therefore, it is possible that they underestimated the life span by

more than 20 Per cent . The study did not account for the undercounting inherent in

the official statistics on road accidents.

5. Nilambar Jha, D.K. Srinivasa, Gautam Roy, S. Jagdish (2004), from their study

clearly indicated that there is a need for road safety education and it should be directed

towards road users, who are frequently involved and injured in RTAs (e.g. students). Pre-

school children may be introduced to the elementary concepts of road safety through

stories involving the animal world. Primary school children may be given practice

guidance on the use of sidewalks and road crossing techniques. For middle school

students - road signs and bicycle riding. High school students can be taught about reaction

time, breaking distance, defensive driving and hazards of alcoholic drinks. Road side

random breath testing for alcohol should be done by using breath analyzers, which can be

confirmed by blood concentration level of alcohol. The real pressure and motivation to

improve driving skills can come only through licensing authorities by adopting stricter,

more comprehensive and scientifically based test laying a stress on road rules, regulations

and traffic control devices. At the time of

19
 giving license to the public transport drivers (Bus and Trucks), they can be given

training in first-aid skills so that victims are attended immediately in the post accident

period.

6. Jolly Jose, Jessil K.J, Remadevi C (2006), in their study indicate that there is a wide

gap between money spent on patients admitted in the ICU and in the general wards.

The money spent on patients in the general ward was found to be considerably low.

The use of helmets should be encouraged by mass education programmes which

could reduce the incidence of head injury. The duration of hospital stay can be

minimized if the primary care system is strengthened by back up referral of RTA cases

to PHCs. Patients should be advised to contact the community health nurse or

multipurpose workers in addressing their rehabilitative needs who in turn must be

given adequate training in this regard. The findings imply that there is considerable

economic burden on hospitals due to RTA and nurses should take initiative in

educating public about prevention of RTA. Nurses can plan the advice on discharge

and health education based on the rehabilitation needs. Families of RTA victims

should be taught on available resources for rehabilitation. In view of the increase in

road traffic accidents the nursing education programmes should incorporate adequate

curriculum content in training student nurses in trauma, emergency nursing and

rehabilitation nursing. To conclude, there should be more importance to the primary

prevention of RTA by improving road conditions and enforcing existing laws.

7. Brussels (2007), the main findings of the report were incomplete and inaccurate
accident reporting of accident cases. The long-term impacts of transport-related injuries within

the EU are to a large extent unknown. Mortality rates are fairly well known in the different member

states.Case mortality in road accidents, i.e. the proportion of all those involved in road accidents who

are killed, has been declining in many countries for a long time. For example, in Part of the decline in

20
 case mortality is probably attributable to medical progress. This implies that some of those who would

have died of their injuries 35 years ago survive today, but very often with lasting impairments. It is

therefore highly likely that the number of people living with lasting impairment as a result of traffic

injury is steadily increasing. However, the preponderance of evidence suggests that traffic injury is

associated with social status. Those who are low in social status sustain traffic injury more often than

those who are high in social status. Social disparities in risk appear to apply to all groups of road users

and all levels of injury severity. This means that those groups of the population who are disadvantaged

in terms of income, education or quality of their residential areas are also disadvantaged as users of the

road transport system by sustaining injury more often than the more advantaged segments of the

population. There is thus a significant element of social injustice with respect to traffic injury.

8. Pachaivannan Partheeban, Elangovan Arunbabu, Ranganathan Rani and

Hemamalini (2007), it is felt necessary to carry out detailed accident cost studies for

Chennai city. Accident cost needs to be estimated for urban and rural areas separately.

Three scenarios were analysed to predict the future accident cost estimation by

considering income growth and discount rate per annum. It is found that the combined

changes in income growth and discount rate per annum results in higher total accident

cost. In this study, a special factor has been considered while calculating the future

loss of accident victims. This is also known as future consumption value, i.e. a person

would have consumed if he had lived, and that has been deducted from the accident

costs. No longer will planners have to struggle through stacks of registers to access

information. The portability of data and the ability to incorporate changes and

modification in the existing databases make the system a desirable tool for planners

and administrators.

9. Rocky R. J. Akarro (2009), Tanzania is one of the countries in which big losses due

to road accidents was evidenced. For example in 1994 alone the estimated losses due

to motor accidents was approximately at least 11 billion ($22 Million) and the trend

was continuing. The National Insurance Corporation (NIC) disbursed over 15 billion

21
 Tshs ($30 Million) in 1993 on motor vehicle accidents, which accounted for 55 Per

cent of all claims launched by customers during the year. The government of Tanzania

has been putting road safety measures in its agenda. Speed limiters on buses have

been affected but this has not reduced road accidents significantly as incidences of

road accidents was still a common occurrence in Tanzania. Realizing this

SIDA/SAREC in conjunction with the Department of Statistics at the University of

Dar es Salaam carried out a research on people’s opinions regarding possible causes

of road accidents with a possibility of designing a remedial solution. People whose

opinions were sought were the drivers themselves, the motor cyclist, the pedal

cyclist/gutta cyclist/mkokoteni and the pedestrian. Analysis identifies driver errors as

the main causes of accidents followed by a combination of driver/vehicle errors and

vehicle/road errors. Findings show that effective remedial solutions should be

designed to capture for the drivers whom as the study shows are the main players in

road accidents.

10. Binu B Pillai and Dr.Kurian Joseph (2011), in their study reported that accident

cost includes medical expenses, gross loss of output in administrative and court

expenses and also the cost of intangible consequences like pain, grief and sufferings.

Rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles especially during the last two decades

has been the major reason for the increasing number of road accidents. In our country

several safety programmes, developing vehicle technology and new Motor Vehicle

Act etc are considered, planned and implemented to control the impacts of road

transport injuries. They conclude that to prevent Road Traffic Injury on roads in our

country, we should consider and use sustainable safety programme of different

countries as per our requirements which would bring down the number of accidents

and fatalities on roads in future. The preventive measures brought through this report

22
 further direct us to control or bring down these Per cent ages by using different new

safety measures, infrastructural design fatalities and latest vehicle technology which

would definitely reduce the existing figures of pre-crash and crash conditions in our

country.

11. B. Sandhya, Inspector General of Police, (2011) , addressed a road safety awareness

programme organised by the Regional Transport Office in 2011, she said lack of a road

culture and scant regard for traffic rules were the reasons for spurt in accidents. Inspector

General of Police, Thrissur Range, B. Sandhya has stressed the need to develop a new

road safety culture in view of the increasing road accidents in the State.

“Kerala has the highest road accident rate in the country. Over 3,800 lives are lost on

State's roads each year. About 40 per cent of the victims are two-wheeler riders. Many

more road users suffer permanent disability following the accidents,” she said.

The increase in accidents could be attributed to many factors, she said. “The rapidly

shrinking road space in view of the ever-increasing vehicle population is a major

factor. Road users seldom adhere to traffic rules. Utter disrespect for the rights of

others is the reason for the disregard of traffic rules. Two-wheeler riders often do not

wear helmet. Pedestrian's safety has never been considered,” she said. The State

needed an effective road safety action plan, Ms. Sandhya said. Officials and the public

should join hands for the effective implementation of the road safety action plan to

ensure the safety of all road users, she said.

“Road safety classes should be conducted at educational institutions regularly. Rules

should be made stringent against drunken driving.”

23
12. Kiran Sandhu (2012), the gravity of the challenges posed by RTAs becomes fairly

evident. From time to time,the Government of India has come out with legislation and

policy initiatives to address the menace of RTAs. However the failure in addressing

the same appropriately is largely due to poor enforcement and lack of implementation.

Proper implementation can go a long way in reducing, if not completely mitigating,

the risk of mortality on the Indian roads.

13. Liyamol Isen, Shibu A, Saran M. S (2013),the study was an attempt to find out the

most vulnerable accident locations or the black spots in Alappuzha and Ernakulam

districts making use of GIS. The WSI method was used to rank the accident locations,

and top ranked six spots in Alappuzha and ten spots in Ernakulam were selected as

per the WSI value for the data collection and analysis in GIS platform. Based on the

analysis, Kalavoor in Alappuzha and two spots Kalamassery and Mulamthuruthy in

Ernakulam were identified as most vulnerable accident locations and suggested some

possible alternative or corrective measures to improve the transportation system in

these locations, from which the decision maker can select suitable measure for the

location. The method is found to be effective in identifying the black spots, provided

sufficient secondary data is available.

14. Manisha Ruikar (2013), as per bibliometric analysis was done to document injury

literature published in low- and middle-income countries, India, the second-most

populous country in the world, contributed only 0.7 Per cent articles on road traffic

injuries and had less than one article on road traffic injuries per 1,000 road traffic-

related deaths. To be effective, policies on injury prevention and safety in developing

countries must be based on local evidence and research, and designed to suit the

social, political, and economic circumstances found in developing countries. As a

24
 result, strategies to increase research itself must develop alongside steps to stimulate

policymakers and practitioners to demand and use research evidence.Strengthening

and undertaking research on the public health burden and impact, understanding the

risk factors, characteristics of trauma, and measuring the impact of interventions

through well-designed public health and clinical research methods (trauma registry,

surveillance programs, hospital- and population based studies etc.) is the need of the

hour. Health professionals and their professional bodies across wide disciplines need

to take an initiative for the same, with active commitment.

15. B.V.Sreekumar and Dr.V.Sreedevi (2014), the study depicts that the problem of road

accident is a very acute in highway transportation due to complex flow pattern of

vehicular traffic, presence of mixed traffic along with pedestrians. Traffic accident

leads to loss of life and property. By and large, it depicts the road accidents died has

increased in 2011 (12 persons killed in per 100 accidents) as compared to 2001 (7

persons killed in per 100 accidents). Mostly in rural areas the roads are damaged and

not recovery of them. Since, the road accidents are maximum occurring in rural and

other roads. Further, the study shows that in state highway having more number of

road accidents in 2011 as compared to the initial period of 2001. Moreover, this gives

evidence from the statistical analysis in mean and standard deviation. It also spells out

other roads having more road accidents than compared to national highway and state

highway. This study attempts to another objective of district wise classification of

road accidents in the study area. It depicts that most of them accidents were occurred

in 2001 and the majority districts are Ernakulum , Palakkad , Alappuzha and Kannur.

Still recently in 2011 the majority of the road accidents in Kerala, the districts are

Malapuram,

25
 Wayanadu, Kannur, Palakad. At 2011 compared to 2001 the road accdidents ratio are

decreased but the died ratio are rosed in every year.

16. Pawan Deshpande (2014), in his study stated that road accidents are a human

tragedy. They involve high human suffering and monetary costs in terms of untimely

deaths,injuries and loss of potential income. Although we have undertaken many

initiatives and are implementing various roadsafety improvement program the overall

situation as revealed by data is far from satisfactory. During the calendar year 2010,

there were close to 5 lakh road accidents in India, which resulted in more than 1.3

lakh persons. These numbers translate in ten road accident every minute, and one road

accident death every 4 minutes. Unfortunately, more than half the victims are in the

economically active age group of 25-65 years. The loss of the main bread winner can

be catastrophic. Road traffic accidents are amenable to remedial action. Many a

countries have curbed the menace of road accidents by adopting a multipronged

approach to road safety that encompasses broad range of measures, such as, traffic

management,design and quality of road infrastructure, application of intelligent

transport system, safer vehicles, law enforcement, effective and quick accident

response and care etc. The Government alone cannot tackle road safety problems.

There is a need for active involvement of all stake- holders to promote policy reform

and implementation of road safety measures. Addressing road safety is comprehensive

manner underscores the need to involve multiple agencies and sectors like health,

transport and police.

17. Binu,B.Pillai and Dr.G.D.Singh (2015), in the year 2001 the total number of road

accidents were 38361 and it rose to 42363 in the year 2005. From the year 2006

onwards there is a slight decreasing tendency in accidents and it come to 36282 in

2014.Based on the information gathered from Motor Accident Claim

26
Tribunal (MACT), the total cost of accidents in Kerala was Rs 291.27 crores at 1998

prices. At current prices in 2013-2014, the total cost of accidents works out to more

than Rs 500 crore per annum. This is a terrible price we have to pay for mobility of

people in the state. Road accidents and its after effects lead to a major economic,

social and health problem. The various costs experienced during and after the

accidents include hospital expenses, administrative and court expenses, wastage of

time and also the cost of intangible consequences like pain, grief and sufferings.

Sudden increase in the number of motor vehicles with the same infrastructure of roads

especially during the last two decades has been the major reason for the increasing

number of road accidents. Several measures has been planned and implemented in our

country to control the impact of injuries during road accidents such as awareness of

safety programmes, new vehicle technology and introducing strict Motor Vehicle Act.

27
 CHAPTER III
CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTS AND
ITS IMPACT

28
 ROAD ACCIDENTS

A Road Traffic Accident can be defined as, ‘an event that occurs on a way or

street open to public traffic; resulting in one or more persons being injured or killed,

where at least one moving vehicle is involved. Thus it is a collision between vehicles;

between vehicles and pedestrians; between vehicles and animals; or between vehicles and

geographical or architectural obstacles’.

No one can put a price tag on a human life, but there is a loss to the family, to the

community, every time a person is killed or maimed or temporarily out of action in a road

accident. Every year, more than 12000 people die in road accidents around the world.

Road accident fatalities reported in developing countries is about seventy Per cent ages.

Road deaths and injuries are a global problem of massive proportions. Of all the

systems that people have to deal with on a daily basis, road transport is the most complex

and the most dangerous. Some important and major studies on the subject of road

accidents and fatalities carried out by World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO),

Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), and others have highlighted that road crashes are a

cause of death particularly in developing and transitional countries.

World Wide Accident Situation

As per WHO more than 1.17 million people die on road every year. According to

WHO, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death by injury worldwide (20.3 Per

cent of all deaths from injury) and rank second to HIV / AIDS as the leading

29
cause of ill-health and premature death among adult men (aged 15-44). A 1996 study by

WHO, ‘Global Burden of Disease’ showed that in 1990, out of 10 cases of deaths and

injuries, road crashes were ninth on the list. Forecast for 2020 shows that the road crashes

are expected to move up to the third place in terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years

(DALYs).The DALY is an indicator of the time lost by an individual in living with a

disability or by premature death. Jacob and Aeron – Thomas suggested that for 2010 the

range of global road deaths will be between 900,000 and 1.1 million and between 1

million and 1.3 million in 2020. Without additional efforts and initiatives, the total

number of road traffic deaths and injuries worldwide is forecast to rise by 65 Per cent

between 2000 and 2020 and in low-income and middle-income countries, the deaths are

expected to increase by as much as 80 Per cent (Mittal 2008). As per the 2009

commission for Global Road Safety traffic accidents kill an estimate of 1.3 million people

and injure 506 million per year, and global road fatalities are forecast to reach 1.9 million

by 2020. The number of deaths on road in Asia is about 7,00,000 per year, accounting for

more than half of the world’s road fatalities though Asia is accounted for only 43 Per cent

of the global vehicle population in 2007 (Road Accidents in India 2009). About 70 Per

cent of road accidents occur in developing countries. 65 Per cent of deaths involve

pedestrians and 35 Per cent of it is children. Over 10 million are crippled or injured each

year. At least 6 more million will die and 60 million will be injured during the next 10

years in developing countries. The majority of road crash victims in developing countries

are not the motorized vehicle occupants, but pedestrians, motor cyclist, bicyclists, and

Non Motorized Vehicles (NMV) occupants.

India has the second highest number of road accidents in a year, according to

World Road Statistics (WRS) 2010 data. In developing countries, the fatality rates

(defined as road accidental deaths per 10,000 vehicles) are quite high in

30
comparison to developed countries. In 2006 over 1,05,749 died in India against China’s

toll of 89,455 as per the latest figures by the Ministry of Shipping Road Transport and

Highways. Road traffic accidents and injuries are a major but often neglected public

health problem in India. 1,14,600 people died and 4,65,000 got injured on Indian road in

2007. India is the only country in the world which faces more than 13 fatalities and 53

injuries every hour as a consequence of road accidents (Singh 2009).

Road accidents killed 33 people every hour in Southeast Asia in 2009 and the

highest number of these deaths was reported in India. A World Health Organisation

(WHO) report by Sample Plianbangchang, Regional Director of WHO for Southeast Asia

says “As many as 2, 88,768 people were killed on the roads in the region and almost 73

Per cent of this burden belongs to India”. Also among the total number of road accident

deaths, almost two-thirds were motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists. The young people

killed in the accidents (aged between 15-44) corresponds to the economically most

productive segment of the population and put a huge economic burden on the countries.

Tamilnadu and Maharashtra have the largest number of road accidents in India (one-

fourth of the total 3.94 lakhs in 2006). It is partly the responsibility of the citizen to

practice safety measures. Every driver seems to be in too much hurry to give passage to

any other vehicle and too egoistic to apologize in the scene of an accident and put the

blame upon others. Careless overtaking is a common practice. The number of accidents is

accelerated by ever increasing congestion of roadway system. Speedy medical assistance

is also required to minimize the death toll. The government should avoid myopic policies

and strictly enforce the traffic laws since road accidents not only cost human lives but

also affect approximately 3 Per cent of Gross Domestic Product (as estimated by World

Bank). These alarming statistics have resulted in enhancing roadway safety

31
through safety research and safety conscious design, which are mainly concerned with

reducing the number of consequences of vehicle crashes.

Accident Situation in India

Road accident scenario in India is a great issue, as it has become a major social,

economical and health problem. India has nearly six crore motor vehicle on road while

the USA has a stock of more than 25 crores. Over 85,000 people are killed annually in

India while it is less than 42,000 in the United States. Every year more than 4 lakh

accidents take place on Indian roads, leading to more than 80,000 fatalities. With about

5.5 Per cent of the total motor vehicle population in the world, the number of fatalities per

ten thousand vehicles is 14.39 in India, as against China (17.10) and high income

countries (between 1.0 and 2.50). The road fatalities are very high in India and rank

second highest in the world after China.

In India, more than a million are injured and about a lakh are killed on roads

annually. It causes the country a loss of around 55,000 crores annually which is 2 to 3 Per

cent of GDP.

The total road network in India is 3.34 million kms but the road infrastructure is

not up to the mark. India cannot put vast resources on road security. Still something

should be done as 40 Per cent of all accidental deaths are caused by road accidents

(Mishra 2009). In 2009 India witnessed around 4.9 lakhs road accidents that killed

1,25,660 and injured more than 5 lakh. These numbers translate into one road accident

every minute and one road accident death every four minutes. Road traffic injuries and

fatalities impose a huge economic burden on developing economies (Road Accidents in

India 2009). Mohan (2009) states that road traffic fatalities have been increasing by about

32
8 Per cent annually for the last ten years. Road safety policies in India must focus on the

following issues: pedestrians and other non-motorist in urban areas; slow vehicles on

highways; motorcycles and small cars in urban areas; over-involvement of trucks and

buses; night-time driving; and wrong-way-drivers on divided highways. India’s specific

countermeasures will be possible through continuous monitoring and research, which will

require the establishment of road safety research centres in academic institutions and a

National Road Safety Board (NRSB). Urbanization and the growing number of vehicles

in developing countries increased traffic accidents on road networks that were never

designed for the volumes and types of traffic that are urgently required. Road traffic

accident is a rare, random, multi factor event always preceded by a situation in which one

or more road users have failed to cope up with their environment resulting in a collision.

Transportation is an essential part of modern existence, linking the various activities in

which people participate especially at home, work, school and go to shopping or

recreation (Mustaqim et al 2008).

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports more than 1,35,000 traffic

collision related death in India every year. In new Delhi the frequency of traffic collision

is 40 times higher than the rate in London. Traffic collision related death went up from 13

per hour in 2008 to 14 per hour in 2009. More than 40 Per cent of these are associated

with motorcycles and trucks. The most accident prone time on Indian roads is during the

peak hour at afternoon and evening.

Road traffic safety experts opines that the actual number of casualties may

be higher than what is documented as many go unreported. Moreover, victims who

die some time after the accident are not counted as accident victims.

33
 The “Global Status Report On Road Safety” published by the World Health

Organization (WHO) identified the major causes of traffic collision as over speed, driving

under the influence of drinks and not using helmet and seat belts. Failure to maintain lane

or yield to oncoming traffic when turning are prime causes of accidents on four lane, non-

access controlled National Highways. The report noted users of motorcycles and motor-

powered three-wheelers as constituting the second largest group of traffic collision

deaths.

Road safety is one issue that needs special attention as there’s one death reported

every 4 minutes in India. Nearly 5 lakhs road accidents were reported in 2013 in which

more than 1 lakh people lost their lives most of whom were aged between 30 and 44

years.

The crucial time between the accident and getting the victim medical attention is

very significant. The Law Commission of India says 50 Per cent of victims die as they

don’t get medical assistance on time. A simple thing like bringing a patient in time can

result in a question of life and death (Gupta).

One can help oneself too. According to a WHO report, wearing a helmet
reduces chances of death by 40 Per cent and thatof severe injury by 70 Per cent .

The report says that using child restraints reduces likelihood of a fatal crash by

70 Per cent among infants and up to 80 Per cent in young children. Wearing a seat

belt can reduce fatal injuries by 50 for Per cent front seat occupants and up to 75

Per cent for those sitting in near seats.

34
Road Accident in Kerala

Kerala has a vast network of over 1.62 lakh kilometers of roads but only 1524

Kms. come under National Highway and 24024 km come under Public Works

Department which includes 4650 Km. of State Highways and 19374 Km. of Major

District Roads. Even large portions of NH 17 and the State Highways have only single or

intermediate lane width. Due to friction and conflicts inflicted by the cris-crossing of

vehicles such as cycles, pedestrians, slow mode etc., not only the level of service of the

roads deteriorated sharply but also resulted in higher accident causalities. Accidents

become a common scene on Kerala roads and major brunt of these accidents is born by

cyclists, pedestrians, and two wheelers.

There are about 1.6 lakh kilometers of roads in the state of which only 20 Per cent

are motorable. The rest are mostly narrow or single lane pathways intended for residential

or street connectivity. 80 Per cent of motorable traffic uses the arterial and sub-arterial

roads consisting of National Highways, State Highways and Major District Roads which

are under the supervision of Public Works Department. The maintenance and upkeep of

these highways are far from satisfactory and devoid of any scientific pavement or bridge

management system.

The motor vehicle population in Kerala, which was around 2 lakhs in 1980, has

almost doubled every 5 to 6 years. There are about 60 lakh registered motor vehicles in

the state of which 25,000 are stage carriages (bus services). 63 Per cent of the vehicles are

two wheelers. Around 5 lakh vehicles are now added on the state roads every year. A

major chunk of this vehicle stock is found in urban region causing traffic congestion.

35
 Kerala stands third in road accident risk index and on an average around 11 people

of crushed under the wheels on our roads everyday and over 100 people are disabled for

life. 40 Per cent of accident victims are from the vulnerable groups consisting of

pedestrians, students, and cyclists. There is no road culture and traffic rule obedience

among road users.

Although the state has high potential in coastal and inland water transport,

exploitation of such facilities still remains tardy. There is no proper coordination among

service providers of different transport modes. The cities and towns in the state are

constraint by narrow roads and bridges and poor pavement and drainage conditions.

Adequate footpaths, cycle tracks, pedestrian and vehicle crossing facilities, service roads

etc. are absent in city roads. Traffic congestion, long queues at junctions, crowding in

buses, dust and smoke, accidents, fuel wastage etc. are the common scene on our urban

roads.

In Kerala average around 150 people are getting injured and hospitalized in road

accidents daily. While on an average 11 people are killed daily, over 50 persons are

grievously injured. 40 Per cent of those killed are from vulnerable road users including

pedestrians and cyclists. 40 Per cent of two wheelers are also getting involved in road

accidents. Road accident rate and fatalities are increasing in the state without any

abetment. There is an urgent need to control road accidents and gradually bring it down to

zero level.

Road accidents are the third major cause of death in the state. Heart ailments and

cancer are the other diseases that take a heavy toll of human lives in the Kerala State. The

state of Kerala has nearly 3 per cent of the country’s population but it has recorded about

10 per cent of the country’s road traffic accidents. According to the

36
causality figures recorded in major medical college hospitals in the state, nearly 70 per

cent of the head injuries are reportedly caused due to traffic crashes. Rapid increase in the

number of motor vehicles has been the major reason for the increasing number of road

accidents in our state. The vehicle population has increased by almost 20 per cent per

year. Almost 60 Per cent of motor vehicles in the state are two wheelers. Two wheeler

populations increased from mere 0.5 lakh in 1980 to 50.41 lakh in 2013. The Kerala state

has recorded the third highest number of road accidents in the whole of the country after

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The accident rate of Kerala is the highest in the country

with 15 accidents per 1000 vehicles, which is twice that of all Indian average. Even

bigger states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh

have reported far less number of accidents compared to Kerala State.

The situation in Kerala is likely to worsen in future due to increase in population,

urbanization and demand for personalized transport resulting from economic growth and

higher income. The daily transport demand is expected to grow from present 135 lakh

trips to over 180 lakh passenger trips by 2025. Kerala will continue to remain as a

consumer market for all kind of goods. The existing transport system will not be able to

cater to this much demand and hence the inter-modal goods transport system, mass transit

system, urban transport infrastructure, traffic management and associated amenities must

be improved substantively.

The overall objective of the Transport Policy is to evolve schemes to meet, in a

phased manner, the requirements of faster mobility, safety, access to social and economic

services and minimizing the impact of negative externalities.

37
Causes of Road Accident

“Road danger is a man-made crisis, with human error accounting for over 90 Per

cent of accidents”, said Bob Joop Goos, chairman of the International Organisation for

Road Accident Prevention. “More than 90 Per cent of road accidents are caused by human

error. We, therefore, have to focus on people in our traffic safety programmes”, stated

Goos.

According to Goos, 1.3 million road deaths occur worldwide every year and more

than 50 million people are seriously injured. The key is focusing on the human element

with the “objective of stimulating good (driving) behaviour”, remarked Goos.

“Road danger is not just statistics, it causes a great deal of suffering for the people

who have lost a loved one or who are handicapped. Road danger has a big impact in our

lives”, Goos pointed out.

He called on the media to partner with government bodies and international

organizations in communicating the message of traffic safety.

“Here comes the important and indispensable role of media in our fight against

road crashes. The objective is to bring and to keep road safety on the centre stage and the

first step is to raise awareness, to make people see that there’s a huge challenge to solve.

Many people do not know the extent of the disaster which takes place on our roads every

day”, Goos remarked.

According to Goos, the second step is to tell people that the challenge of road

safety can be overcome, that the danger on the road is a man-made crisis which can be

solved. “The sure step is to discuss how we can solve the problem and to implement

38
adequate measures”, Goos explained. He added that the media can help spread awareness

by running specific messages about speeding, drinking and driving, seatbelts and traffic

distractions, and through broadcasting and hosting programmes and talk shows with

experts to speak on the issue of road safety. “This way we are building a kind of road

safety culture in society”, said Goos.

According to Jose Miguel, chairman of the Portuguese Society for Road Accidents

Prevention, a road accident is a consequence of the quality of the road transport system or

a break in the balance between the environmental demand and the driver’s ability to act. It

is, therefore, imperative to “increase the ability of the road users to act in accordance with

the needs of the environment” - Miguel.

“Ninety Per cent of our road accidents are related to bad driving behaviour -

driving recklessly and speeding under the influence of alcohol, changing lanes without

signalling, driving on the hard shoulder and passing through red lights. I can count 55

behaviours that control driving. If we can influence these, we can modify driver’s

behaviour”- Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan, Commander-in-chief of the Dubai Police.

There are 3,500 deaths a day or 150 every hour, and nearly three people get killed

on the road every minute. And if we continue with the present efforts, the number of

traffic fatalities worldwide will rise by 67 Per cent over the period of 2000 to 2020, 68

Per cent in the Middle East and North African region, and 144 Per cent in Southeast Asia

and middle to low-income countries by 83 Per cent , according to the World Health

Organisation (WHO) prediction.

Police records shows that rash and negligent driving on the part of the drivers is

the main cause of road accidents. According to records, almost 95 Per cent of accidents

39
occurred due to the fault of drivers of the motor vehicles. The rest of the accidents are

caused due to various other reasons like traffic, bad weather, poor road condition, fault of

pedestrian’s etc.

Road accidents are caused due to one or more of the following reasons.

1. Rash driving and unhealthy competition of vehicles

2. Defective eye sight of drivers

3. Poor surface condition and badly maintained side shoulders of roads

4. Uncontrolled access streets and unmanned junctions

5. Least care regard to traffic rule

6. Haphazard parking on road side

7. Location of bus stops close to junctions

8. Lack of pedestrian crossing, walkway facilities etc.

9. Encroachment/dumping of materials on the road

10. Rapid increase in personalized modes of transport

11. A lack of road discipline

Common causes of Road Accidents

Road accident is most unwanted thing to happen to a road user, though they

happen quite often. The most unfortunate thing is that we don't learn from our mistakes

on road. Most of the road users are quite well aware of the general rules and safety

measures while using roads but it is only the laxity on part of road users, which cause

accidents and crashes. Main cause of accidents and crashes are due to human errors.

Here are elaborating some of the common behaviour of humans which results in

accident.

40
 1. Fault of driver of motor vehicle driver

2. Over speeding

3. Drunken driving

4. Fault of cyclist and pedestrian

5. Fault of passengers

6. Technical defect of vehicles

7. Bad road conditions

8. Bad weather conditions

9. Distractions to driver

10. Red light jumping

11. Avoiding safety gears like Seat belts and Helmets

12. Blind spots

13. Non-adherence to lane driving and overtaking in a wrong manner

1. Fault of motor vehicle driver

Over-speeding, rash driving, violation of rules, failure to understand signs, fatigue,

alcohol etc. of the driver of a motor vehicle leads to accidents. Common driving mistakes

are

1. Loosing attention –‘ zoning out’

2. Driving while drowsy

3. Becoming distracted inside the vehicle (cell phone, radio, passengers)

4. Failing to adjust to adverse weather conditions

5. Driving aggressively (tailgating, jumping red lights, and stop signs etc.)

41
 6. Changing lanes without checking blinds spot

7. Making assumptions about other drivers intentions

8. Ignoring essential auto maintenance (brake lights, bad tyres etc.

 Bad driving habits and road safety

There are number of things that other driver’s do that can be extremely irritating

and dangerous. Bad Tailgating, poor lane discipline, not indicating and undertaking are

just a few of the bad habits that frequently and are very annoying. Aside from the

inconvenience to other road users, this kind of inconsiderate driving is also very

dangerous.

 Tailgating

This is probably one of the greatest offences. Some drivers are extremely impatient,

some people do it without thinking, just following traffic they get a bit close, but then

they back off as you accelerate way. Some drivers tailgate deliberately though and these

are the ones that are the most dangerous. They sit behind you flashing their headlights in

an effort to move you, but of course there is now here to go as you are in the process of

overtaking and there is no room to pull in on the left. To this kind of driver, the two

second rule means that they can just about cope with another vehicle in front of them

before they decide to intimidate them by driving inches away.

42
 Undertaking

Tailgaters that don’t get their way will often resort to undertaking if they can.

There are also those selfish individuals out there that hog the middle and the outside lane.

They have no idea that there is a queue of traffic waiting to get past them, probably

because they are in their own little world thinking about what to have for dinner. This

causes some individuals to lose patience and undertake.

 Poor lane discipline

Some drivers are all over the place and they don’t seem to realize that they are

supposed to stay in between those white dashed lines.

These are just a few of the things that can be particularly irritating about other

drivers and their habits. Below are some other annoyances;

 Cutting corners, particularly at junctions.

 No headlights in conditions that require them.

 Throwing cigarettes out the window.

 Leaving main beam on, or dimming only at the last minute.

 Inappropriate use of the horn.

 Impatient people pushing in ahead of a queue of traffic.

 Drivers & Riders

Every day, drivers die in road traffic accidents. Many die as a consequence of

inexperience, speeding, intoxication through drink or drugs or just plain recklessness.

Being a good driver is not just about the ability to control a vehicle and having good

reflexes but about attitude and being able to spot and understand dangers on the road.

43
  Young Drivers

For every kilo meter driven, a 17 year-old male is eight times more likely to be

involved in a crash as a middle aged man. Females 17-24 are massively at risk as the

victims of male speeding, frequently killed or maimed as passengers.

 Driving in Fog

Fog can be thought of as a cloud at ground level. It forms when the temperature

drops to the dew point (the temperature at which air is saturated), and invisible water

vapor in the air condenses to form suspended water droplets. Fog can reduce visibility to

1/4 mile or less, creating hazardous driving conditions.

 Driver fatigue

Driver fatigue can lead to losing control of the vehicle. The risk of a fatal fatigue

crash is four times greater between 10 pm and 6 am than for the rest of the day. Fatigue is

a general term commonly used to describe the experience of being "sleepy", "tired" or

"exhausted". Fatigue is both a physiological and a psychological experience. Driver

fatigue can severely impair judgment and can affect anyone. It is particularly dangerous

because one of the symptoms is decreased ability to judge our own level of tiredness.

Other symptoms vary between drivers, but may include yawning, poor concentration,

tired or sore eyes. Restlessness, drowsiness, slow reactions, boredom, feeling irritable,

makes fewer and larger steering corrections, missing road signs having difficulty in

staying in the lane micro sleeps. It is important to note that driver fatigue is not simply a

function of time spent driving but relates to many factors including hours since last slept

(hours of wakefulness) and time of day or night.

44
High risk times for fatigue-related fatal crashes are:

 10 pm-6 am

 Afternoon

 1pm-3pm

Fatigue-related crashes at these times of the day coincide with dips in the body's

circadian rhythms, which program us to feel sleepy at night when we would normally be

asleep and to a lesser extent in the afternoon hours. Fatal crashes identifying fatigue as a

factor are more likely to occur during public and school holiday periods. Nearly 30 per

cent of all fatal fatigue accidents occur during public or school holidays.

2. Over speeding:

Most of the fatal accidents occur due to over speeding. It is a natural psyche of

humans to excel. If given a chance man is sure to achieve infinity in speed. But when we

are sharing the road with other users we will always remain behind some or other vehicle.

Increase in speed multiplies the risk of accident and severity of injury during accident.

Faster vehicles are more prone to accident than the slower one and the severity of

accident will also be more in case of faster vehicles. Higher the speed, greater will be the

risk. At high speed the vehicle needs greater distance to stop i.e. braking distance. A

slower vehicle comes to halt immediately while faster one takes long way to stop and also

skids a long distance due to law of notion. A vehicle moving on high speed will have

greater impact during the crash and hence will cause more injuries. The ability to judge

the forthcoming events also gets reduced while driving at faster speed which causes error

in judgment and finally a crash.

45
 Speed is the single biggest factor contributing to road deaths. Over 40 Per cent of

fatal collisions are caused by excessive or inappropriate speed. A 5km/h difference in

speed could be the difference between life and death for a vulnerable road user like a

pedestrian.

Speed has been identified as a key risk factor in road traffic injuries, influencing

both the risk of a road crash as well as the severity of the injuries that result from crashes.

Excess speed is defined as exceeding the speed limit. Inappropriate speed is defined as

driving at a speed unsuitable for the prevailing road and traffic conditions. Excess and

inappropriate speed is responsible for a high proportion of the mortality and morbidity

that result from road crashes. Controlling vehicle speed can prevent crashes happening

and can reduce the impact when they do occur, lessening the severity of the of injuries

sustained by the victims.

3. Drunken driving:

Consumption of alcohol to celebrate any occasion is common. But when mixed

with driving it turns celebration into a misfortune. Alcohol reduces concentration. It

decreases reaction time of a human body. Limbs take more to react to the instructions of

brain. It hampers vision due to dizziness. Alcohol dampens fear and incites humans to

take risks. All these factors while driving cause accidents and many a time it proves fatal.

For every increase of 0.05 blood alcohol concentration, the risk of accident doubles.

Apart from alcohol many drugs, medicines also affect the skills and concentration

necessary for driving.

46
 Alcohol is estimated to be a contributory factor in 37 Per cent of all fatal crashes

(drunk drivers/riders and drunk pedestrians) and a factor in 62 Per cent of single vehicle

crashes. One fifth of fatal road crashes that happen between 6 am and 12 noon are alcohol

related. Pedestrian alcohol is a factor in 38 Per cent of fatal pedestrian road crashes. Just

one drink impairs driving. This not a theory, it’s a scientific fact. Safe driving requires

clear judgment, concentration, and being able to react to what happens on the road.

Alcohol and other drugs affect all of these. Alcohol is a drug that affects your skills,

moods and behaviour. Once it has been consumed the effects of alcohol on driving cannot

be reversed.

4. Fault of cyclist and Pedestrian:

Carelessness, illiteracy, crossing at wrong places, moving on carriageway,

Jaywalkers etc. of pedestrian are causes of accident. Though Pedestrian is the most

important constituent of traffic, he belongs to high risk group on road. In order to remain

safe from perils of road, pedestrians should cultivate the habit of using road infrastructure

in proper manner. Subways, Zebra Crossings, foot over bridges should be used to cross

the road. Short cuts and easy options of crossing roads are dangerous and should not be

resorted to.

5. Fault of Passengers:

Projecting their body outside vehicle, by talking to drivers, alighting and boarding

vehicle from wrong side, travelling on footboards, catching a running bus etc. from the

part of passengers are causes of accidents.

47
6. Technical defect of Vehicles:

Technical defect of vehicles involves failure of brakes or steering, tyre burst, insufficient

headlights, overloading, projecting loads etc

7. Bad Road Conditions:

Bad road condition means potholes, damaged road, eroded road, merging of rural

roads with highways, diversions, illegal speed breakers.

8. Bad Weather conditions:

Fog, snow, heavy rainfall, wind storms, hail storms etc. are causes of accidents.

9. Distraction to Driver:

Though distraction while driving could be minor but it can cause major accidents.

Distractions could be outside or inside the vehicle. The major distraction now a days is

talking on mobile phone while driving. Act of talking on phone occupies major portion of

brain and the smaller part handles the driving skills. This division of brain hampers

reaction time and ability of judgement. This becomes one of the reasons of crashes. One

should not attend to telephone calls while driving. If the call is urgent one should pull out

beside the road and attend the call. Some of the distractions on road are:

 Adjusting mirrors while driving

 Stereo/Radio in vehicle

 Animals on the road

 Banners and billboards

48
 The driver should not be distracted due to these things and reduce speed to remain

safe during diversions and other kind of outside distractions.

10. Red Light Jumping:

It is a common sight at road intersections that vehicles cross without caring for the

light. The main motive behind Red light jumping is saving time. The common conception

is that stopping at red signal is wastage of time and fuel. Studies have shown that traffic

signals followed properly by all drivers save time and commuters reach destination safely

and timely. A red light jumper not only jeopardizes his life but also the safety of other

road users. This act by one driver incites other driver to attempt it and finally causes

chaos at crossing. This chaos at intersection is the main cause of traffic jams. Eventually

everybody gets late to their destinations. It has also been seen that the red light jumper

crosses the intersection with greater speed to avoid crash and challan but it hampers his

ability to judge the ongoing traffic and quite often crashes.

11. Avoiding Safety Gears like seat belts and helmets:

Use of seat belt in four-wheeler is now mandatory and not wearing seat belt

invites penalty, same in the case of helmets for two wheeler drivers. Wearing seat belts

and helmet has been brought under law after proven studies that these two things reduce

the severity of injury during accidents. Wearing seat belts and helmets doubles the

chances of survival in a serious accident. Safety Gears keep you intact and safe in case of

accidents. Two wheeler deaths have been drastically reduced after use of helmet has been

made mandatory. One should use safety gears of prescribed standard and tie them

properly for optimum safety.

49
12. Blind spot

The blind spot in your vehicle is the big area around your vehicle that you just

can't see, even when your mirrors are properly adjusted. The blind spot around the

average car is about the size of a large swimming pool, it is a huge area that you can't see.

If you're driving your big rig trucks, you have got to be really careful because the blind

spot around a big rig truck is huge. The rule of thumb is that if you can't see a driver, a

truck driver in his or her rear view mirrors, they can't see you at all.

13. Drug driving

Drugs can affect driving in the following ways:

 Slower reaction times

 Poor concentration
 Sleepiness/fatigue
 Confused thinking
 Distorted perception
 Over confidence, so you take unnecessary risks
 Impaired co-ordination
 Erratic behaviour
 Nausea
 Hallucinations
 Blurred vision/enlarged pupils
 Aggression
 Panic attacks and paranoia
 Tremors
 Dizziness
 Cramps

50
 Financial Repercussions of Road accident on family and society

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) and fatalities have emerged as a major public health

concern, with RTIs having become one of the leading causes of deaths, disabilities and

hospitalizations which impose severe socio-economic costs across the world. Many

developing countries including India have a serious road accident problem (Road

Accidents in India 2010). In India, fatality rates (defined as, road accidental death per

10,000 vehicles) are quite high in comparison to developed countries. For example,

fatality rate in India given by Sikdar and Bhavsar (2009) shows, Indian fatality rates are

15 Per cent to 20 Per cent higher than those of developed countries. In developed

countries like Europe and America the situation is normally improving, but in the case of

developing countries they face a worsening situation. Apart from the humanitarian

aspects of the problem, road accidents cost the developing countries at least 1-3 Per cent

of their GDP each year. As per data registered by the World Health organization, in 2010

nearly 1.4 million people are known to die each year due to road accidents globally. Out

of this figure nearly 1.34 lakhs people die in India. This shows about 369 people die every

day on Indian roads which is nearly 10 Per cent of daily global road accident. According

to World Health organization (WHO) report on the Decade of Action for Road Safety

2011–2020 states without any action on road safety would lead to the loss of around 1.9

million lives on the roads each year by 2020.

Road crashes deserve to be a strategic issue for any country’s public health and

can lead to overall growth crisis, if not addressed properly. Road traffic injuries was the

leading cause of death globally among 15-19 year-olds, while for those in the 10-14 years

and 20-24 years age brackets, it was the second leading cause of death (WHO

2007).According to the statistics obtained from Indian Ministry of Road

51
Transport and Highways at least 15 people die every hour in road accidents in 2010 when

compared to 14 in 2009 .Due to co-ordinate inter agency approaches in developed

countries, the situation is improving. Road crashes significantly inhibit economic and

social development burdens on developing nations like India estimating 3 Per cent of

gross national product. However, the price being paid for this is exorbitant. The estimated

cost includes compensation, asset loss, and loss of man power, loss of productivity, high

medical expenses, costly management, property damage and many others. It also includes

victims lost wages and the replacement cost of lost household work. In India, as on 2012,

the compensation is proposed to be hiked in case of a death in a road accident from

Rs.25,000 to 1 lakh. In case of serious injury, compensation will be Rs.50, 000.

There are various studies carried out by Wang et al (1996), Sussman (1985),
Robertson (2003), Stutts et al (2001) which estimated about 25 to 37 Per cent of

traffic accidents involved driver distraction and causes approximately $50 billion

social and economic costs annually. The National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI)

found that 80 Per cent of crashes and 65 Per cent of near-crashes involved some

form of driver inattention within three seconds of the crash.

Cost of Road Accidents

The economic cost occurred due to road crashes and injuries mainly effects

middle income countries between 1 Per cent and 1.5 Per cent of their gross national

product (GNP) and for high income countries it is 2 Per cent of GNP. Economic costs are

just the tip of iceberg for everyone killed, injured or disabled by a road traffic crash there

are countless others deeper in to poverty by the expenses of prolonged medical

52
care, loss of a family bread winner or the added burden of caring for the disabled. It is

difficult to assign monetary value on pain and suffering caused by road accidents. Social

cost includes direct and indirect cost. The direct costs are cost of medical treatment

normally include emergency treatment, cost for medicines and for serious injuries, the

cost of long term care and rehabilitation, funeral expenses, administrative cost of

processing medical payments to providers etc. The indirect costs are loss in productivity

associated with the death or injury. Productivity losses include the value of lost house

hold services and the value of lost earnings from the victim, care givers and family

replacement cost of lost house hold work, compensation for lost earnings through

litigation, insurance or welfare programs etc.

Injured people often suffer physical pain and emotional anguish that is beyond any

economic compensation. Permanent disability, paraplegia, quadriplegia, loss of eye sight,

or brain damage, can deprive an individual of the ability to achieve even minor goals and

result in dependence on others for economic support and routine physical care. Other

resource costs include police, legal, fire, victim services plus cost of property damage or

loss in injury incidents. Medical cost and lost productivity do not capture the

psychological losses associated with road traffic crashes, either to those injured or to their

families. These costs might possibly exceed the productivity losses and medical costs

associated with pre mature death, were they accurately quantifiable. Road traffic crashes

also place a heavy burden on the family and friends of the injured person, many of whom

also experience adverse social, physical and psychological effects.

53
Direct Consequences of Accidents are:

2. 1 Fatality (Death)

3. Injury

4. Property Damage

NATPAC (National Transportation Planning and Research Centre)

NATPAC, an institute under Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and

Environment, has been engaged in research and development studies in the field of

transportation covering all modes. It has all necessary testing and laboratory facilities for

highway designing. It has plans to establish full fledged test tracks and other training aids

for imparting training to all categories of drivers in defensive driving. Government will

encourage and strengthen the R&D efforts of NATPAC in the field of traffic and

Transportation and Road Safety. Government will also strengthen such efforts taken by

other agencies in the state to plan and design transport facilities on a scientific basis.

Research studies on future fuel alternatives, vehicle safety, transport planning and

management in cities and towns, creation of data bank etc. will be given priority.

Surface Transport and Traffic Planning in Kerala

Across the world, traffic planning to improve transportation facilities as well as

safety of passengers is a major concern. Kerala is the most populous state of India. Road

accidents are a major safety concern of the State and traffic accidents account for a major

portion of Crime Statistics in Kerala. Overpopulation of vehicles, road engineering

defects, road conditions and driving defects together contribute to accidents which take

away around 4000 lives every year, apart from injuring more than 40,000 people in this

54
small state. Skills, attitudes and behaviour of drivers and the nature of enforcement of

traffic rules and regulations are very important in determining the number of accidents.

Apart from the high density of population, the undulating topography, thick vegetation,

contiguous habitation and roads strait - jacketed with buildings on either side are major

reasons for the increased rate of accidents in the state of Kerala. Apart from road

engineering problems, inadequate road signs, poor condition of roads, drunken driving

and inadequate road sense of drivers and road users are major concerns as far as road

safety is concerned.

Facilities of Ambulance and hospitals throughout the state are a golden line in the

darkness. However Trauma Care Special Units need to be developed in all the hospitals,

so as to save more lives in accidents. Awareness on how to attend and save lives is a

major task to be undertaken seriously by NGOs, hospitals and other agencies in tandem

with each other. Those individuals and organisations involved in saving lives from

accident scenes need to be encouraged by the society. Trained drivers who are sensitized

over traffic regulations tend to drive safely.

With the above dictum in mind the Kerala Government is planning to start an

Institution of Drivers Training and Research. With the help of various Governmental and

Non-Governmental Organisations, various road safety programmes are being organised in

Kerala to make roads safer. Street shows and other awareness programmes, through

audiovisual and print media are organised. A street show by the Trivandrum City Traffic

Police is worth mentioning here. It is attracting big crowd and conveys good message to

the public. Traffic warden system involving school children is introduced in some areas.

Pamphlets on road safety are printed and distributed by various agencies. Kochi City

Police recently released a Traffic Guide for the benefit of road users in Kochi City.

55
Complaint Card System is used by many District Police Traffic Units for receiving

complaints of public against traffic law violation, misbehaviour while using public

transport etc.

Recently the Highway Police Units of Kerala were revamped with new vehicles.

The Highway Police help can be sought by the public from the telephone number

9846100100. Highway Police is arranging awareness programmes for school children,

drivers etc in many districts. Prepaid autorikshaw and taxi facilities are arranged with the

help of police in many cities. Various steps to enhance road safety such as Zebra Line and

other road markings and road safety audit are being undertaken now, apart from

tightening of safety standard of vehicles. Provision of cranes and ambulances owned by

the Government and NGOs are available under the National Highway Accident Relief

Service Scheme, ALERT Service, etc. Widening of National Highways from 2 lanes to 4

lanes and 6 lanes is taking place in many areas.

The recent High Court Order has urged many a citizen to use helmet while driving

two wheelers. Two-wheeler driving safety can be enhanced by using quality helmets.

Enforcement of traffic laws, especially regarding over speed, drunken driving etc using

modern equipments like Speed Governors, Breath Analyzers etc. helps to reduce

accidents. Speed governors fitted to the heavy vehicles also help to reduce the number of

accidents. Time punching system is helpful to regulate the speed of buses. However it

may be noted here that the amount of fine, punishment etc. are not deterrent enough to

create much psychological impact on drivers as the monetary loss / punitive measures are

not too harsh as in many advanced countries. Improving road discipline and civic sense

are extremely important in such circumstances. Including traffic education in school

syllabus and arranging awareness programmes among public etc. along with strong

56
enforcement measures as well as long term plans to improve road traffic and alternative

methods of means of transport such as revival of water transport, construction of metro

rail etc. are required to improve transport facilities of Kerala.

Preventive measures for accidents

The following activities have prevented the increase in accidents that would normally

result from increases in traffic density. There are three main approaches to preventing

accidents:

1. Education and awareness about road safety

2. Strict Enforcement of Law

3. Engineering:

(a) Vehicle design (b) Road infrastructure

1. Education and training of:

(a) children in school by road-traffic instructors and school teachers; and of

(b) adolescents in the principles of safe driving and in good driving attitudes; by

(c) refresher courses for older drivers to bring home safe-driving principles and to

refresh their knowledge of traffic law; and by means of

(d) newspaper, radio television, and other publicity, to draw the attention of all road

users both to dangers and to safe practices on the road.

57
2. Enforcement by :

(a) adopting reasonable and enforceable traffic laws which, at the same time, are best

designed to prevent accidents;

(b) concentrating the time and energy of traffic officers on the offences, locations, and

times that feature frequently in accidents; and

(c) thoroughly testing new drivers to ensure they will not be liable to cause accidents.

3. Engineering of vehicles and roads:

I. Vehicle engineering, comprising

(a) regular inspection for a “warrant of fitness” to ensure that the main components of the

vehicle are safe;

(b) improving the design of the vehicle to give ease of vision and control to the driver and

so reduce the likelihood of injury in an accident;

(c) fitting safety equipment, such as seat belts.

II. Road or traffic engineering comprises

(a) the design of new roads which are inherently safe (separating opposing traffic flows,

eliminating cross traffic, and providing wide shoulders and traffic lanes and good

visibility);

(b) Improving existing roads by realignment, improving vision, and resurfacing slippery

surfaces;

58
(c) Regulating traffic movement by installing traffic signals, traffic islands, road

markings, and regulatory signs such as “stop” and “give way” signs; and

(d) Assisting the driver with warning and destination signs to avoid danger and confusion.

59
CHAPTER IV DATA
ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION

60
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The study “Road Accidents - Its Root causes and Financial Repercussions on

Family and Society” covers the root causes of accidents in Kerala and its impact on the

victim’s family and the society also. The study is based on both primary and secondary

data. Primary data have been collected by conducting a survey among 200 road accident

victims and secondary data have been collected from books, journals, news papers,

periodicals etc. The collected data were organised and presented in the form of tables.

Various statistical techniques like Per cent age analysis, weighted average, trend analysis,

mean, standard deviation, CAGR, correlation, Chi-square etc were adopted for the

analysis. Following are the analysis of data

Table No. 4.1

Socio-economic status of Respondents

Age
Age Number of Per cent age (Per cent
respondents ) of total

18-20 18 9
20-30 74 37
30-40 52 26
40 and above 56 28
Total 200 100
Gender
Gender Number of respondents Per cent age (Per cent
) of total

Male 174 87
Female 26 13
Total 200 100

61
 Occupational Status
Occupation Number of respondents Per cent age (Per cent
) of total

Govt. employee 40 20
Professional 22 11
Business 32 16
Self employment 38 19
Private firms 22 11
Others 46 23
Total 200 100
Monthly Family Income
Income (in Rs.) Number of respondents Per cent age (Per cent
) of total

Below 15000 80 40
15000-30000 78 39
30000-45000 24 12
Above 45000 18 9
Total 200 100
Number of Family members
Number Number of respondents Per cent age (Per cent
) of total

2 12 6

3 30 15

4 86 43

5 and above 72 36

Total 200 100

62
 Number of Earning Members in the Family
Number Number of respondents Per cent age (Per cent
) of total

1 96 48

2 74 37

3 20 10

4 and above 10 5

Total 200 100

Source: Primary Data

Table No. 4.1 shows the socio-economic status of respondents. It includes age,

gender, occupational status, monthly family income, number of family members and

number of earning members in the family of the respondents.

The age of respondents shows that 37 Per cent of the respondents belonged to the

age of 20-30 years, followed by 28 Per cent of the respondents in the age of 40 years and

above, 26 Per cent of the respondents in the age of 30-40 years and 9 Per cent in the age

of 18-20 years.

Gender wise classification shows that out of 200 respondents 87 Per cent are male

and the remaining 13 Per cent are female.

Occupational status of the respondents indicates that 23 Per cent of the

respondents come under the category ‘others’, followed by 20 Per cent of the

respondents are working as Govt. Employees.19 Per cent are self employed, 16 Per cent

63
are running business and 11 Per cent of the respondents each are working as professionals

and in private firms.

Monthly income of the respondents depicts that 40 Per cent of the respondents are

getting below Rs.15000 per month , followed by 39 Per cent of the respondents getting

Rs.15000-30000 per month, 12 Per cent of the respondents getting Rs.30000-45000 per

month and only a 9 Per cent of the respondents getting above Rs.45000 per month.

Considering the number of family members, 43 Per cent of the respondents have 4

members in their family, followed by 36 Per cent with 4 members in their family, 15 Per

cent with 3 members in their family. And only a 6 Per cent of the respondents have 2

members in their family.

Regarding the number of earning members , 48 Per cent of the respondents have

only one earning member in their family, followed by 37 Per cent with 2 earning

members, 10 Per cent with 2 earning members. And only a 5 Per cent of the respondents

have 4 or more than 4 earning members in their family.

64
Financial Repercussions of Road Accidents to an Individual

Following are the financial repercussions due to road accidents to an individual.

 Loss of job

 Immediate medical expense

 Medical expense after the accident at the hospitals

 Medical expense after discharge throughout life time

 Inability to meet household expense

 Inability to meet other family expense

 Inability to meet children’s educational expense

 Inability to repay the bank loan

 Expense for vehicle repair

 Inability to save as previous

 Forced to withdraw deposits

The respondents were asked to rank the factors as financial repercussion due to

road accident. Weightages are given in the following model:

Rank I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI

Weightage 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The weighted average score for each factor was calculated and on the basis, the

overall ranks were assigned. Table No.4.2 reveals the ranking of financial repercussions

of road accident to the individual.

65
 Table No. 4.2

Table showing Financial Repercussions of Road accidents to the Individual

Sl. Financial Repercussions Weighted Std. Deviation Rank

No. Average

1 Lost job 1.56 0.212132 8

2 Immediate medical expense 2.61 0.53033 1

3 Medical expense after the accident at the 2.59 0.516188 2

hospitals

4 Medicalexpense afterdischarge 1.50 0.254558 10

throughout life time

5 Inability to meet household expense 1.74 0.084853 4

6 Inability to meet other family expense 1.66 0.141421 5

7 Inability to meet children’s educational 1.51 0.247487 9

expense

8 Inability to repay the bank loan 1.61 0.176777 7

9 Expense for vehicle repair 2.40 0.381838 3

10 Inability to save as previous 1.64 0.155563 6

11 Forced to withdraw deposits 1.74 0.084853 4

Source: Primary Data

Table No. 4.2 shows the financial repercussions of road accidents to individuals.

Among the eleven financial repercussions of road accidents, immediate medical expense

is ranked first with 2.61 score, followed by medical expense after the accident (mean

2.59), expense for vehicle repair (mean 2.40), household expense (mean 1.74) etc.

66
Medical expense after discharge throughout the life time is ranked last (mean 1.50). The

main financial repercussion influencing the respondent is the immediate medical expense

at the hospitals.

Financial Repercussions of Road Accidents on the Family

Following are the financial repercussions of road accident on the family

 Need physical support of others

 Discontinue child’s education

 Mental depression of family members

 Withdrawal of deposits

 Failure to meet the marriage expense of daughter

 Shift to a rented house

 Anger towards everything

 Thoughts of committing suicide

The respondent and their family members were asked to rank the factors as

financial repercussion on the family due to road accident. Weightages are given in the

following model:

Rank I II III IV V VI VII VIII

Weightage 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The weighted average score for each factor was calculated and on the basis, the

overall ranks were assigned. Table No.4.3 reveals the ranking of financial repercussions

of road accident on the family.

67
 Table No. 4.3

Table showing Financial Repercussions of Road accidents on the family

Sl. Financial Repercussions Weighted Standard Rank

No. Average Deviation

1 Need physical support of others 1.53 0.097227 3

2 Discontinue child’s education 1.17 0.157331 7

3 Mental depression of family members 1.82 0.302288 1

4 Withdrawal of deposits 1.55 0.111369 2

5 Failure to meet the marriage expense of daughter 1.27 0.086621 5

6 Shift to a rented house 1.26 0.093692 6

7 Anger towards everything 1.28 0.07955 4

8 Thoughts of committing suicide 1.26 0.093692 6

Source: Primary Data

Table No. 4.3 shows the financial repercussions of road accidents on the family. It

depicts that among the eight factors, mental depression of family members is ranked first

with 1.82, score followed by the respondents family is being forced to withdraw their

deposits with 1.55 score, victims in need of physical support of others with score1.53 etc.

68
 Table No. 4.4

Table showing Root Causes of Road Accidents in Kerala from 2010-2014

Sl. Causes of accident 2010 Per cent 2011 Per cent 2012 Per cent 2013 Per cent 2014 Per
No. of of of of cent
accident accident accident accident of
acciden
t
1 Fault of motor vehicle driver 34274 97.69 34184 97.06 35140 97.14 34198 97.11 35447 97.70
2 Fault of other motor vehicle 144 .41 170 .49 251 .70 253 .72 203 .56
driver
3 Fault of cyclist, pedestrian & 21 .06 31 .09 33 .10 47 .13 38 .10
passenger
4 Bad weather & bad road 0.00 0.00 1 .002 0.00 0.00 2 .01 0.00 0.00
condition
5 Technical defect of vehicle 9 .03 10 .03 9 .02 16 .05 28 .08
6 Drunken driving 68 .19 101 .29 168 .46 28 .08 20 .06

7 Others 522 1.49 702 1.99 569 1.57 653 1.85 538 1.48
8 Reasons not known 44 .13 17 .05 4 .01 18 .05 8 .02
Total 35082 100.00 35216 100.00 36174 100.00 35215 100.00 36282 100.00

Source: Official Website of Kerala Police

69
 Table No.4.4. shows the root causes of road accidents in Kerala from
2010-2014.There are so many causes that lead to road accidents. From these,
fault of motor vehicle driver is the major cause comes up to 97.70 Per cent in
2014, followed by 97.69 Per cent in 2010, 97.14 Per cent in 2012, 97.11Per
cent in 2013, and 97.06 Per cent in 2011.

The fault of other motor vehicle driver comes up to 0.72 Per cent in
2013, followed by 0.70 Per cent in 2012, 0.56 Per cent in 2014, 0.49 Per cent
in 2011 and 0.41 Per cent in 2010.

The fault of cyclist, pedestrian and passenger is also a cause of road

accident. In 2013 most of the accidents occurred due to this (i.e. 0.13 Per
cent ), followed by 0.10 Per cent each in 2012 and 2014, 0.09 Per cent in
2011, and 0.06 Per cent in 2010.

The bad weather and road conditions caused 0.01 Per cent accidents in
2013 and 0.002 Per cent in 2011. There were no such accidents in other years.

The technical defect of vehicle lead to 0.08 Per cent of accidents in

2014, followed by 0.05 Per cent in 2013, 0.03 Per cent each in 2010 and 2011
and 0.02 Per cent in 2012.

Drunken driving is the factor that caused most of the road accidents in
2012 i.e. 0.46 Per cent , followed by 0.29 Per cent in 2011, 0.19 Per cent in
2010, 0.08 Per cent in 2013, and 0.06 Per cent in 2014.

1.99 Per cent accidents occurred in 2011 due to ‘other factors’,

followed by 1.85 Per cent in 2013, 1.57 Per cent in 2012, 1.49 Per cent in
2010, and 1.48 Per cent in 2014.

70
 In some cases the reasons of accidents are not known. In 2010, 0.13
Per cent of the accidents were recorded without proper reasons, followed by
0.05 Per cent each in 2011 and 2013, 0.02 Per cent in 2014, and 0.01 Per cent
in 2012.

From the above factors, it is clear that the main cause of road accident
is the fault of motor vehicle drivers.

71
 Table No. 4.5

Table showing the Number of road accidents, Death, Injury and

Disability and their Trends from 2010-2014

Year Number Trend Number Trend Number of Trend

of cases of death injury and

disability

2010 35082 100 3950 100 41473 100

2011 35216 100.4 4145 104.9 41379 99.8

2012 36174 103.1 4286 108.5 41915 101.1

2013 35215 100.4 4258 107.8 40346 97.3

2014 36282 103.4 4049 102.5 41096 99.1

CAGR 0.67 0.76 -0.44

Source: Official Website of Kerala Police

The Table No. 4.5 shows the number of road accidents, number of

people died and the injury and disability in road accidents from 2010 –

2014.Most of the accidents occurred in 2014 (36282) and in 2012 (36174).The

same trend (i.e. 100.4) is shown in the total number of accidents in 2011 &

2013. From these, it is clear that the total number of accident shows a

fluctuating trend.

72
 Considering number of death in road accidents from 2010-2014, most

of the people died in 2012,followed by 2013, 2011 & 2014. Number of death

in road accident shows a fluctuating trend.

The number of injury and disability in road accident from 2010-2014

also shows a fluctuating trend. Number of injury and disability was very less

in 2013 and it is high in 2012.

The CAGR is low in case of number of accidents (0.67) and number of

death (0.76). And it is negative (-0.44) in case of number of injury and

disability. It reveals that the number of accidents, number of death and number

of injury and disability is fluctuating year after year.

Testing of Hypotheses:-

The hypotheses taken for the study is tested on the basis of Chi-square

test and another Correlation as follows.

Hypothesis No.1

H0: There is no significant change in the financial status of the victims

after the road accident.

73
 Result of Chi-Square Test

Degrees of freedom 10

Table Value at 5Per cent 18.31

level

Calculated value 23.14

Since the Calculated value of Chi-square 23.14 is numerically greater

than the Table value 18.31 at 5Per cent level of significance. So the null

hypothesis is rejected. Thus there is a significant relationship between the

occupational status of the victims before and after the road accident. Hence we

concluded that there is a significant change in the financial status of the

victims after the road accident due to the change in the occupational status.

Hypothesis No.2

H0: There is no relationship between the age and road accident.

The relationship between age and road accident shows a least positive

correlation (i.e. 0.38). So it is concluded that there is a relationship between

age and road accident. From the study, it is clear that the age group of 20-30 is

mainly involved in road accidents.

74
 CHAPTER V
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS &
CONCLUSION

75
 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Following are the findings of the study

 Out of the 200 respondents, the two-third of them (87Per cent ) were

male, and majority of them from the age group of 20-30 years (37Per

cent ).

 Occupational status indicates that majority of the respondents come

under the category ‘others’ and includes coolie, salesmen, agricultural

labours, taxi/auto drivers etc.

 Before the accidents, most of the respondents (40Per cent ) earn a

monthly income of below Rs.15000 and most of the respondents

(48Per cent ) had only one earning member in their family of four.

 Immediate medical expense at the hospital is the major expense to the

victim among all other repercussions, followed by medical expense

after the accident and expense for vehicle repair etc.

 Majority of the victim’s family members had been mentally tensed and

depressed during the course of treatment, and were forced to withdraw

their deposits for meeting the then expense. Also the victims were in

need of physical support of others.

 Among the causes of road accident the main cause is the fault of motor

vehicle drivers , followed by the fault of the other motor vehicle

76
 drivers in the accident, drunken driving, technical defect of vehicle,

fault of cyclist, pedestrian and other reasons.

 Most of the accidents were occurred in 2012 & 2014 and the total

number of accident during the years of study shows a fluctuating trend.

Majority of the people died in 2012 & 2013 and the figures show a

fluctuating trend through the course of five years. Number of injury

and disability also shows a fluctuating trend. Number of injury and

disability was very less in 2013 and it was high in 2012. Hence the

CAGR is low in the case of number of accidents (0.67) and the number

of deaths (0.76) and it is negative (-0.44) in the case of injury and

disability.

 There is a significant relationship between the occupational status of

the victims before and after the road accidents because the calculated

Chi-square value is numerically greater than the table value. Hence it

is concluded that there is a significant change in the financial status of

the victims after the road accident due to the change in the

occupational status.

 The age and road accident shows the least positive correlation (0.38)

among the criteria considered. In this study the age group of 20-30 is

mainly involved in road accident.

77
78
 SUGGESTIONS OF THE STUDY

 Most of the respondents in the study needed financial support during

treatment, and after discharging from hospital they had to bear a large

amount towards medical expense. All these expense were borne by

themselves by using their money in hand and withdrawing their savings.

Many of the victims do not have insurance policies. But the study did not

take insurance matters in to consideration. If all the victims had life

insurance policies they must have got a good amount from their insurance

to meet the expense. So it is suggested that all vehicle owners and layman

should take a life insurance policy.

 The fault of pedestrian is a reason for road accidents. The pedestrian

should also be careful while crossing and walking on the road. If there is

a footpath, the pedestrian must use it. If there is no foot path, they must

walk as close as possible to the right hand side of the road facing the

oncoming traffic. Pedestrian must be careful not to walk more than two

abreast. If the road is narrow or carries heavy traffic the pedestrian should

walk in single file and always carry a torch when walking at night.

 Rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles is the major reason for the

increasing number of road accidents in our state. The vehicle population

has increased by almost 20 Per cent per year. Almost 60 Per cent of motor

vehicles in the state are two wheelers. Two wheeler populations increased

from mere 0.5 lakh in 1980 to 50.41 lakh in

79
 2013. According to World Health Organization (WHO) report, wearing a

helmet reduces chances of death by 40 Per cent age and that of severe

injury by 70 Per cent . So strict enactment and continuous checking of

helmet and seat belts and other safety measures from the part of authority

related to it is compulsory. Breaking the law punishment must be charged.

 Majority of the accident cases in the study were reported during the

daytime. There are so many heavy vehicles on the road which causes

traffic jams. In spite of the order which regulates heavy vehicle traffic

during daytime, heavy vehicles are a common scene on our roads during

the restricted hours. In order to reduce the number of accidents during day

time the restrictions should be strictly followed.

 The road accidents put a huge economic burden on the countries as most

of the people killed on the roads are young aged between 15 and 44 years,

which corresponds to the economically most productive segment of the

population. The study revealed that majority of the accident victims are in

the age group of 20-30. It is the age of hyper activity. This age group is

not bothered about the value of their own lives and those of others. So

parents should take care of their children using motor vehicle and provide

insights and training to use the vehicles.

 The statistical analysis of accident is to be carried out periodically. It will

help to arrive at suitable measures to effectively decrease accident rates.

So it helps to measure or estimates the number and severity of accidents.

80
 These reports are to be maintained zone-wise. The rate of accidents on

different roads may be assessed by finding the accident density per length

of the road. By statistical study of accident occurrence at a particular road

or location or zone for a long period of time it is useful to predict with

reasonable accuracy the probability of accident occurrence per day or

relative safety of different classes of road users in that location. So the

concerned authorities can take remedial measures to reduce it.

 Everyone seems to be in hurry. Overtaking has become a common

practice. And if the drivers hit someone or some vehicle they are so

egoistic not to apologize. One never hesitates to do such things and feel

proud to put the blame game on others. As per the study, most of the

accidents occurred due to the fault of motor vehicle drivers. The rest of

the accidents are caused due to various other reasons like traffic, bad

weather, poor road condition, fault of pedestrians etc. So drivers should

take care of the following things. They obey the traffic signs, remember

that the speed limit is the legal limit in ideal conditions, slow down in

rain, allow longer stopping distances, follow signal, check mirrors, and

use quick glance. The drivers should also remember that there is a family

waiting for all.

 Our licensing system has many demerits. The drivers are offered license

even without giving road test. The validity period of a license is an

important issue. Also at the time of renewal only eyesight is examined.

81
 Since Kerala is gifted with abundant backwaters, it is possible to have a

parallel system of water transportation.

82
 CONCLUSION

There are so many modes of transport, but roads are narrow and

overcrowded. Today people follow fast life in our society due to the changes

in income, standard of living, changes in technology etc. Accident is a usual

process in our society. Majority of the lives lost by accidents. We can see that

so many reasons behind the road accidents i.e. bad condition of roads,

ignorance of traffic rules, careless driving, driving without helmet etc. This

study evaluates the root causes of road accidents and its financial

repercussions on the personal life of the victims and the family. There are so

many causes of road accidents. From them, fault of motor vehicle driver is the

main cause of road accident and followed by ‘other reasons’, fault of other

motor vehicle drivers, drunken driving, fault of cyclist, pedestrian and

passenger, technical defect of vehicles etc. In some cases the reasons are not

known. Financial repercussions of road accidents to the individual indicates

that most of the respondent bear immediate medical expenses at hospital and

after discharge and also the expense for vehicle repair.

Financial repercussions of road accidents on the family indicates that

majority of the victim’s family members had been mentally tensed and

depressed because of the accident and they forced to withdraw their deposits

for meeting their household and other family expense. There is a significant

change in the financial status of the victims after the accident due to the

change in the occupational status because of the accident. The correlation

83
between the age and road accident is least positive (0.38). Hence there is a

relationship between age and road accident. And in this study the age group of

20-30 is mainly involved in the road accident.

Most of the road crashes are caused by human error. The main causes

of death and injury on roads remain speeding, drink driving and non-wearing

of seat-belts, helmets etc. Because most traffic accidents are the product of

several factors, the probability of accidents can be reduced in a number of

different ways. So we must build a kind of road safety culture in our society

by spreading awareness by running specific messages about speeding,

drinking and driving, seatbelts and traffic distractions, and through

broadcasting and hosting programmes and talk shows with experts to speak on

the issue of road safety. And to tell people that the challenge of road safety can

be overcome, that the danger on the road is a man-made crisis which can be

solved.

84
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91
APPENDIX

92
 QUESTIONNAIRE ON
ROOT CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTS - ITS FINANCIAL
REPERCUSSIONS ON THE LIFE OF VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILY

A. Personal profile
1. Name:
2. Age: 18-20 20-30 30-40 Above 40
3. Sex: Male Female
4. Occupational status:
Government employee
Professional
Business
Self employed
Others
5. Monthly family income:
Below Rs.15000 Rs.15000- Rs.30000
Rs.30000-Rs.45000 Above Rs.45000

6.How many members in your family?

2 3 4 5 and above
7.How many earning members in your family?
1 2 3 4 and above

B. Details of accidents
1.Date and Time of accident:
Date:___________ Month:___________
Year:___________ Time:__________
2. Location of accident:_________________________

93
3. What is the reason of accident?
1.by my own mistake
2.fault of driver of other motor vehicle
3.fault of passenger or pedestrian
4.fault of cyclist
5.bad weather
6.badd road condition
7.technical defect of the vehicle
8.drunken driving
9.talking by mobile while driving
10.overspeed
11.careless driving
12.reasons not known
13.others (specify):_______________________
C. Financial Impact on Victims ( please Rank them)
1. I missed my carrier on account of physical disabilities/ ailments.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
2. I have to afford huge expenditure on medical bills.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
3. I have to bear a considerable amount on medical charges
even after the accident.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree

4. I have to pay enormous amount to meet medicinal

needs throughout my life.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree

94
5. I find it extremely difficult to meet the household expenditure.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
6. I have to bear the burden of other family related expenses.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree

7. I am struggling hard to meet the educational requirements of

children.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
8. I find it hard to repay the bank loan.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
9. I have to meet the repairing expenditure for my vehicle.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree

10. I cannot contribute to the saving schemes like chitties , LIC’s,

Post Office savings etc. as I did before.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
11. I have to withdraw myself from bank deposits and other
savings schemes.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree

12. If you come across any other sort of difficulties other than
listed above, please specify ______________
D. Financial Impact on Family ( please Rank them)
1. My income has been considerably reduced due to loss of job.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
2. I always need the physical support of a person due to permanent
disability.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree

95
3. I need money for the purchase of medicines.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
4. My children had to discontinue their education due to non
payment of fees.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
5. My family members are mentally depressed and worried because
of my poor health condition.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
6. I am forced to withdraw deposits, chitties, LIC’s etc.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
7. The marriage of daughter is concern for me.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
8. I have to move from my own house to a rented one.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
9. I feel angry with everyone and everything.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree
10. Sometimes I feel like committing suicide.
Agree Partially Agree Disagree

96