High road accident toll a drain on Indian economy

By Rina Chandran

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The twisted metal of smashed up cars lining highways is a grim testament to India's road toll, one of the worst in the world with around 100,000 people killed in traffic accidents last year alone.

As incomes rise and the economy rapidly expands, new cars and trucks pour onto Indian roads at an ever increasing pace, squeezing into narrow, congested streets that were never designed for such a massive flow of traffic.

Creaking infrastructure, poorly trained drivers and cars that lack basic safety features due to a preference for cheap, fuel efficient vehicles by Indian motorists are causing an already horrendous road toll to balloon.

And the toll is not just human. The World Bank estimates that every year road accidents cost India about 3 percent of its gross domestic product which was more than $1 trillion in 2007.

"We're talking about a very serious issue here that also has huge economic implications," said Rajesh Rohatgi, a transport specialist at the World Bank in New Delhi.

Road accidents could become the No. 3 public health issue in India by 2020, overtaking such deadly diseases as tuberculosis and AIDS, the World Bank predicts.

In India, where roads carry almost 90 percent of all passenger traffic and 65 percent of its freight, the mortality rate per 10,000 vehicles is 14 compared with less than two for developed countries, the World Bank estimates.

It is easy to see why: Cars and motorbikes -- many with four riders astride -- share space on narrow roads with bicycles, three-wheeled rickshaws, trucks, buses, the odd bullock cart and pedestrians forced to walk in roads by hawkers on pavements.

With few Indian cities enforcing even basic requirements such as seat belts, it is not unusual to see children sitting in the laps of adults in front seats, and overloaded buses with people balanced precariously on the steps or perched on the roofs.

Potholed roads, inadequate safety regulations, a scrappy licence system and a lax attitude toward drunk and underage driving are all blamed for accidents that kill an estimated 275 people every day.

But the biggest killer is arguably the growing numbers of vehicles hitting Indian roads every year, steered by drivers who lack basic motor skills and driving on roads that are incapable of supporting the massive volume of traffic.

GLOBAL ROAD DEATH TOLL TO SOAR

It's a problem that is being seen in other developing countries with booming economies that are making cars affordable to the masses.

The World Bank estimates that the number of deaths from car accidents globally will rise to 2 million per year by 2020 from 1.2 million unless driving skills are taught and road laws are enforced.

In India, the transport ministry estimates that the number of annual fatalities from road accidents might climb to 150,000 by 2015 due to the rapid growth of vehicle ownership in India.