New Delhi:
Three out of five people feel unsafe on Indian roads, says a survey conducted in 12 cities of the country including the four metros.
During the survey, the general public expressed strong support for the Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014 and expressed hope that roads will become safer.
"81 per cent of all respondents "strongly favor" passing of the proposed road safety Bill and 90 per cent believe that passing the Bill will be an important accomplishment for the Indian Parliament," said the survey report which was released by Former Union Home Secretary GK Pillai in the presence of several families affected by road accidents.
In the past decade, more than 12 lakh people have been killed in road crashes in India. This translates to over 380 deaths a day, equivalent to a jumbo jet crash. Survey findings also revealed that 3 out of 5 respondents feel unsafe while traveling on Indian roads as drivers, pedestrians or passengers, the report said.
The survey was jointly commissioned by SaveLIFE Foundation and the Global Road Safety Partnership (a hosted project of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies).
The report further revealed that 91 per cent respondents believe that increased penalties for traffic violations will improve road safety while 97 per cent respondents favour the various statutes for protection of children during commute. 90 per cent respondents favoured mandating helmets for everyone on a two wheeler and 96 per cent favoured reforming RTO's.
Talking about the lack of focus the society and politicians have on road accidents, Pillai pointed out that 2,500 people lost their lives due to terrorism during the last one year.