Awareness on Traffic and Safety Rules – A
Statistical Analysis
(With Reference to Visakhapatnam City)
Abstract
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 their
part which causes accidents and crashes. Main cause of accidents and crashes is
due to human errors. Some of the common errors of people which result in
accident are: (1) over speeding; (2) drunken driving; (3) distractions to
driver; (4) red light jumping; (5) not using safety gears like seat belts and
helmets (6) non-adherence to lane driving and (7) overtaking in a wrong manner.
A transportation by road in India is very popular for various reasons, but the
condition of Indian roads needs substantial improvement. The rate of
road-accidents and fatality in the country is very high. Pressure on roads has
been on increase and the number of vehicles is increasing leaps and bounds.
Lack of road-sense has further complicated the matters. Driving licenses are
alleged to be given without proper testing and traffic rules and regulations
are thrown to the winds. Overloading is another major factors of road-accidents
and deaths.
The
condition of the vehicles is hardly found road-worthy. The unmanned railway
level-crossings further add to the chaos and confusion. Travel by road provides
a lot of flexibility, convenience, speed and reliability, particularly at short
distances in cities and towns. Therefore, it is the most preferred mode of
transport. But Indian roads in cities, towns and those connecting them have
been in a very poor condition. Their development and maintenance have not kept
pace with the growth in vehicular population. Consequently, there are accidents,
serious injuries and deaths all around. Road transportation is the backbone of
our nation and transport services are considered as growth engine of the
economy. It is said that more the length of roads, more the prosperity of the
nation. The prosperity brigades of a nation normally comprise of
intelligentsia, hard 2 labor, infrastructure availability and lastly the smooth
safer roads.
However,
transportation network if not used properly may cause pollution and accidents.
As per data registered by the World Health organization, (WHO 2019) nearly 12
lakhs people are known to die each year in road accidents globally out of which
more than 83,000 people are killed roughly 5 times of this number (about 4
lakhs) are seriously injured in India. It means, we kill about 230 people and
injure about1100 every day on Indian roads. Out of this, about 25-30% are
pedestrians and 15-20% children under 15 years of age. In India, the total cost
of losses due to road accidents are in the range of Rs. 400-500 cores a day. The
estimated cost includes compensation, asset loss, time and energy spent on
police, hospital and court cases etc. But it is difficult to measure these
sufferings in terms of money. The loss to the nation due to road accidents is
untold, eating into the economics of the nation.Road safety has become a major
concern for the regulatory authorities in India. Indian road safety situation
is many times worse when compared to the developed countries of the world,
which leaves much to be done in the field of Road Safety Management. Road
safety is defined as the absence of crashes, injuries and fatalities.
The
term "safety" implies that there are no occurrences of accidents.
Although undesirable, crashes and fatalities are inevitable incidents of the transportation
system. The road transportation is cursed with road accidents. A substantial
accident risk is always present in the development of transport facilities.
Road crashes are a growing problem worldwide. The road systems all over the
world are getting more and more congested and unsafe day by day. Road Traffic
Accident (RTA) is normally defined as "accident which takes place on the
road between two or more objects, one of which must be any kind of a moving
vehicle." Road traffic accidents can be called as perennial disaster, as
they have claimed far more lives than any of the natural disasters.
"Accidents are not natural but they are caused," is a common saying
in the area of traffic safety. Every hour, 13 people die due to road accidents,
the highest in the world. Every 10th person who dies in road accidents is an
Indian. Road fatalities in India have been rising at the rate of 8 per cent a
year and, paradoxically, have only increased even as massive amounts of money
have been pumped into improving roads and adding new highways, 3 flyovers and
expressways.
In
India, it's a tragic conundrum; the better the road, the faster the traffic
will go, but with lax enforcement, few rules and safety factors, it only leads
to more deaths. The major factors that lead to the high incidence of road
accidents are, drunken driving, driver fatigue, wrong judgments, negligence,
poor traffic management, bad roads, total lack of observance of traffic rules,
weak legal deterrents, ineffective traffic police, walking pedestrians and a
deadly mix of slow and fast-moving traffic. A sizable number of fatalities due
to road accidents is avoidable but for want of better road safety management
and availability of prompt medical help. The fact is that there are too many
vehicles on our roads which are built without any foresight or care for future
projection of traffic volumes. Vehicular traffic in India is growing at an
alarming rate and still the government and local agencies responsible for road
safety and traffic management have been slow in their response to deal with the
problem. India is second most populous country in the world beside china, the
estimated population in 2017 may is India is still second populous country in
world and Asia continent. Land area consisting of 1,269,219 sq. Miles
surrounded by seven countries and has connected by the transport system. Many
national highways and expressway, recently opened Pune Mumbai, expressway,
Delhi Noida expressway. Due to increase in population and buying power of the
people are in large, who own cars, two, three wheelers. Indian states are
experiencing severe traffic jam and fatal car accidents. Out of many road
accidents in 2017, India ranked 2 in road accidents beside china, making the
country with most road accidents in the world.
Objectives: To determine whether or not the queries chosen are going to be relevant in addressing the set objectives of the analysis and conjointly to update form and discard pointless queries, To rectify errors before the specific questionnaires go out to the particular respondents. To calculate the intermediate response rate within the use of numerous medium for information collection.
Method of collecting Samples: The population under-study which consists of the population 4.3072 million (estimated) as of 2019, it is remarkably impossible to interview such chaotic amount of population .254 respondents of Visakhapatnam have been surveyed. selected through a non-random sampling technique .A pre designed and a pre tested structured A cross sectional study was conducted among 200 people aged between 18-50 in the vizag city. The samples were multiple choice questionnaire and check list was used for assessment and practice of road safety rules The collected data was analysed by using descriptive and analytical statistics by SPSS version 16.0.
Summary and Conclusions: In the study, it is observed that 85.7 per
cent respondent are males, 14.2 per cent respondent are females .Among these
respondent according to their gender 37.6 per cent between the age 15-25, 28.1
percent respondent are between the age 26-35, 16.19 percent respondent are
between the age 36-45 ,18.09 percent respondent are between the age 45 and
above. It is observed that 4.28
percent respondents have answered no parking, 94.76 percent respondent have
answered no u – turn ,0.47 percent respondent have answered zebra crossing, 0.47
percent answered none. Among these 0.95 percent respondents are illiterate,
0.47 percent respondents are below fifth, 15.2 percent respondents are sixth to
tenth, 15.2 percent respondents are inter, 64.76 percent respondents are UG and
PG. It is observed that 2.3 percent respondents have answered no u-turn, 0.95
percent respondents have answered no parking,95.71 percent respondents have
answered no over taking ,0.95 percent
respondents answered none. Among these 0.95 percent respondents are illiterate,
0.47 percent respondents are below fifth, 15.2 percent respondents are sixth to
tenth ,18.5 percent respondents are inter , 64.7 per cent respondents are ug
pg. It is observed that 1.42 percent respondents have answered black zone,0.47
percent respondents have answered zebra crossing,96.60 percent respondents have
answered speed limit ,1.42 percent respondent answered none. Among these 0.95
percent respondents are illiterate ,0.47 per cent respondents are below
fifth,15.23 per cent respondents are
sixth to tenth, 18.57 per cent respondents are inter ,64.7 per cent respondents
are ug and pg. It is observed that 96.6 percent
respondent have answered the no parking, 2.3 percent respondent have answered
the stop,0.47 percent respondent have answered zebra crossing ,0.47 percent
respondent have answered others .Among these 0.95 percent respondent are
illiterate,0.47 percent respondent are below fifth ,15.2 percent respondent are
sixth to tenth,18.5 percent respondent are inter, 64.76 percent respondent are
ug pg. It is observed that 25.5 per cent respondent are strongly agree
,31.9 percent respondent are agree , 20.9 percent respondent are neutral , 11.9
percent respondent are disagree , 5.7 per cent respondent are strongly
disagree, among this 37.6 per cent are from 15-25 age group,28.1 per cent are
from 26-35 age group ,16.1 percent are from 36-45 age group ,18.1 per cent are
45 and above. It is observed that 50.4 per cent respondents have never parked
their vehicle in no parking area ,7.1 percent respondents parked their vehicle
in the no parking area because parking fee is too high ,22.3 per cent
respondents parked their vehicle in no parking area because of urgency ,17.1
percent respondents parked their vehicle in no parking area because of no place
in parking area ,2.8 per cent respondent parked their vehicle no parking area
because of other reasons. It is observed that 60.9 percent respondents have paid
penalties by crossing the rules of the government, 39.04 percent respondents
never paid penalties. Among these 37.6 percent respondents are from 15-25 of
their age group, 28.1 percent respondents are from 26-35 of their age group,
16.1 percent respondents are from 36-45 of their age group , 18.1 per cent
respondents are from 45 and above. It observed that the total number of
respondents are 210.Among these respondents 35.2 percent are from slum and 64.3
percent are from hygienic. It is observed that the total number of respondents
are 210.Among these respondents 1 percent are illiterate , 0.5percent
respondents are below fifth,15.2percent respondents are sixth to tenth,18.6
percent respondents are inter, 64.8 percent are under and post graduation. It
is observed that the total number of respondents are 210.Among these
respondents 85.7 percent are male, 14.3 percent are female. It is observed that
the total number of respondents are 210.Among these respondents 37.6percent are
from 15-25 age group, 28.1 percent are from 26-35 age group, 16.2 percent are
from 36-45 age group, 18.1 percent are
from 45 and above. it is observed that the total number of respondents
210.Among these 21 percent are government employees , 70.5 percent are private
employees , 1 percent are labours and 7.6 percent are students . It is observed
that the total number of respondents 210. Among these 90.5 percent have license,
9.5 percent have no license. It is observed that the total number of
respondents 210.Among these 39.5 are driving vehicle from 1-5 years, 26.7 are
driving vehicle from 6-10years, 33.8 are driving vehicle from 11 & above
years. It is observed that the total
number of respondents 210.Among these 87.1 percent have read the rules and
regulations, 12.9 percent have never read. It is observed that the total number
of respondents 210.Among these 98.1 percent respondents follow the signal
boards on the road (or) on Highways,1.4
percent respondents do not
follow. It is observed that the total number of respondents 210.Among these
respondents 87.6 percent have renewal their insurance and pollution check on
time, 11.9 percent respondent. It is observed that the total number of
respondents 210.Among these 77.6 percent respondents will keep their rear view mirrors open ,21.9 percent
respondents have no mirrors. It is observed that the total number of
respondents 210.Among these 29.5 percent respondent strongly agreed that they
are satisfied with the increase in penality, 31.9 percent respondent agreed
that are satisfied with the increase in
penalty , 21.0 percent respondents are
neutral about the satisfaction of increase the penalty ,11.9 percent
respondents disagreed with the increase in penalty , 5.7 respondents strongly
disagreed with the increase in penalty. It
is observed that the total number of respondents 210. Among these 69 percent
respondents strongly agreed that they think wearing helmet is useful ,23.3
percent respondents agreed that they think wearing helmet is useful , 6.2
percent respondents are neutral about wearing helmet, 1.4 percent respondents
are strongly disagreed in wearing helmet.
It is observed that the total number of respondents 210.Among these 81.4
percent respondent give way to pedestrians at zebra crossing (or) junctions,3.8
percent does not give way to pedestrians, 14.8 percent respondents sometimes
they give way to pedestrians. It is observed that the total number of
respondents 210. Among these 19.6 percent respondents have crossed the signal
points, 53.1 percent respondents. It is observed that the total number of
respondents 210. Among these 50.5 percent never parked their vehicle in no
parking area, 7.1 percent respondents parked their vehicle in no parking area
due to high fee, 22.4 percent respondents parked their vehicle in no parking
area because of urgency, 17.1 percent respondents parked their vehicle because
there is no place is parking lot and 2.9 percent respondents parked their
vehicle because of other reasons. It is observed that the total number of
respondents 210. Among these 77.6 percent respondents use hand signals while
driving 21.9 percent respondents does not use hand signals. It is observed that
the total number of respondents 210. Among these 61 percent respondents have
paid penalties by crossing the rules of the government and 39 percent
respondents never paid penalties. It is observed that the total number of
respondents 210. Among these 42.4 percent respondents suggested a more
efficient transport system, 21 percent respondents suggested faster assistance
to vehicles involved in a collision, 22.4 percent respondents suggested that
traffic lights timed to control traffic, 11.4 percent respondents suggested
other than these , 1.4 percent respondents suggested both transport system and
faster assistance, .05 percent respondents suggested all three and 1 percent
respondents suggested both transport system and faster assistance and also gave
their personal suggestion. It is observed that the total number of respondents
210. Among these 3.3 percent respondents gave 0 rating to Visakhapatnam traffic
management, 0.5 percent respondents gave 1 rating, 2.9 percent respondents gave
2 rating, 6.2 percent respondents gave 3 rating, 5.7 percent respondents gave 4
rating, 5.7 percent respondents gave 4 rating, 19.5 percent respondents gave 5 rating,
18.1 percent respondents gave 6 rating, 17.1 percent respondents gave 7 rating,
15.2 percent respondents gave 8 rating, 6.2 percent respondents gave 9 rating
and 4.8 percent respondents gave full rating.
Policy Implications: It
is necessary for everyone to be aware of traffic signs and road rules. Traffic
signs can give you important information that can ensure your safety and the
safety of those around you and awareness of road rules can lower chances of
accidents. Over 1,50,000 people in India are killed every year due to traffic
accidents. With a per day average of 400 fatalities, India has one of the
highest rates of accidents in the whole world. One of the prime reasons for
these accidents is negligence of road safety norms and traffic signs. Be it a
pedestrian or a person driving a car/motorcycle, having awareness about road
safety norms and traffic signs is an absolute necessity in today’s time.
Traffic signs provide us with
important instructions and information on the condition of roads. They not only
help in the smooth flow of traffic but also guide and warn people on how they
should conduct themselves while on the roads. Drivers who are pre-informed
about the points of entry, exit, turns, and other road conditions by way of
traffic signs naturally make less number of mistakes and reach their
destinations in a smooth manner.
In India, any person applying for a
driving license is required to be familiar with road safety signs and traffic
signals. They need to go through a written/oral test in order to obtain the
driving license. Here are some of the ways in which traffic signs act as a
traffic management tool: Road signs inform drivers the correct lanes to take so
that they can avoid blockages caused due to abrupt turns, Provide significant information
about sensitive junctions and curves, speed limit, and presence of hospitals or
schools nearby so that drivers can adjust their pace accordingly, Inform
vehicle owners about available/restricted parking areas, entry and exit points,
and more, Guide heavy, medium, and light vehicles with proper division of
lanes, Ensure discipline on the roads by the implementation of lane discipline
and overtaking rules, Inform motorists about directions to take, potential
dangers ahead, and rules to follow on highways.
While it is important for children to know about road safety
rules and regulations, they should not be given more information than they can
handle. Here are a few basic road safety rules for kids that you can begin
with. Know Your Signals, Stop, Look, And Cross, Pay Attention – Listen,
Don’t Run On Roads, Always Use Sidewalks, Never Stick Hands Outside The
Vehicle, Never Cross Road At Bends, Don’t Rush.
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