A friend of ours was involved in a car accident recently. Car collisions are very common in India, most Indians know a friend who has been in a car collision, usually with horrific outcomes. For the number of cars in India, the fatality rate is unusually high. Here are the numbers.
In 2009, India had roughly 114,000 road fatalities, and roughly 12.3 million vehicles. The fatality per vehicle in India is roughly 114/12300 = 0.0093 or roughly 0.01. For every hundred cars, there is one fatality.
For comparison, in 2007, the US had 41,000 road fatalities, and 254 million vehicles. The fatality per vehicle is .00016, or roughly 0.0002. For every ten thousand cars in the US, there are two fatalities.
The two rates are off by a factor of fifty! For every fifty cars that are involved in a fatal accident in India, one car is involved in a fatal accident in the US.
This glosses over some key differences, like occupancy of individual cars. Vehicles in the US have one or two passengers, while Indian vehicles are more likely to have three or more people. But even that cannot account for the huge difference. Even assuming that Indian cars have twice the number of passengers, you are twenty five times more likely to die on the road in India than in the US. This number is still very large. When you account for average speeds (significantly lower in India), the numbers look even worse. Driving at higher speeds is inherently more dangerous, and the speed of traffic in the US is much higher than in India. All put together, the factor of fifty is still too high.
One key difference between the US and India is that traffic laws are not enforced in India and are thus not followed. Here is an example of the chaos that ensues: cars on the wrong side of the road, drivers rushing past a stop light, and confusion at every intersection. Policemen can be bribed with small currency: Rs.200 ($4) settles most matters. Many drivers have forged licenses, and even the official driving test doesn't ensure that the driver knows all the rules.
In comparison, even in the worst traffic in the US: Los Angeles at rush hour, everyone follows the rules, there's nobody coming in the wrong direction. Nobody splits lanes, and even though it is frustrating, people follow the rules. Driving in LA isn't fun: the drivers can be edgy and rash, but even at its worst, the traffic is a lot more sane than on Indian roads.
In 2009, India had roughly 114,000 road fatalities, and roughly 12.3 million vehicles. The fatality per vehicle in India is roughly 114/12300 = 0.0093 or roughly 0.01. For every hundred cars, there is one fatality.
For comparison, in 2007, the US had 41,000 road fatalities, and 254 million vehicles. The fatality per vehicle is .00016, or roughly 0.0002. For every ten thousand cars in the US, there are two fatalities.
The two rates are off by a factor of fifty! For every fifty cars that are involved in a fatal accident in India, one car is involved in a fatal accident in the US.
This glosses over some key differences, like occupancy of individual cars. Vehicles in the US have one or two passengers, while Indian vehicles are more likely to have three or more people. But even that cannot account for the huge difference. Even assuming that Indian cars have twice the number of passengers, you are twenty five times more likely to die on the road in India than in the US. This number is still very large. When you account for average speeds (significantly lower in India), the numbers look even worse. Driving at higher speeds is inherently more dangerous, and the speed of traffic in the US is much higher than in India. All put together, the factor of fifty is still too high.
One key difference between the US and India is that traffic laws are not enforced in India and are thus not followed. Here is an example of the chaos that ensues: cars on the wrong side of the road, drivers rushing past a stop light, and confusion at every intersection. Policemen can be bribed with small currency: Rs.200 ($4) settles most matters. Many drivers have forged licenses, and even the official driving test doesn't ensure that the driver knows all the rules.
In comparison, even in the worst traffic in the US: Los Angeles at rush hour, everyone follows the rules, there's nobody coming in the wrong direction. Nobody splits lanes, and even though it is frustrating, people follow the rules. Driving in LA isn't fun: the drivers can be edgy and rash, but even at its worst, the traffic is a lot more sane than on Indian roads.
It's no wonder that the fatality rate is so high in India.
Definitely doesn't surprise me. I went to Indonesia with my parents a couple years ago, and found the traffic (which is exactly like India) very nerve-wracking, to put it mildly. I don't know why they even bothered to put traffic lights in places-- nobody ever obeys them, anyway! I'll definitely take the road-rage-inducing idiot drivers in LA over this, any day!
ReplyDeleteInteresting! The sad part is that Indian traffic (at least in Bombay) used to be civilized. People would adhere to the rules. But those days are gone. With no enforcement of laws, there is short-term incentive not to follow the laws. And when everyone does that, following the law will only work against you.
ReplyDeleteI still think it can be fixed. With a strong, impartial police force, and enforcement of existing laws, we could bring down the fatality rate in India. But till then, the collisions will continue, and human life will be lost.
Nice information and good post.. Thanks for posting that..
ReplyDeleteA very informative post. I believe that the rate of traffic fatalities is real high though for both countries.
ReplyDeleteI think traffic laws must me more heavily implemented in India, their car accident rates are alarming.
ReplyDeleteIndia must definitely organize and implement traffic rules, their fatality rate due to car accidents is getting alarming.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that India has a higher traffic fatality rate compared to the US. They have a lot of work to do in improving their traffic rules and disciplining their drivers.
ReplyDeleteHaving a high population rate, this might be the cause of the high traffic fatality rate in India. If traffic rules are followed, this rate could be decreased, but it's always helpful to seek advice from professionals like wites & kapetan p.a. since accidents are sometimes inevitable.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is a way to test this theory: LA traffic, from source to destination, is slower than in India because of the stricter laws.
ReplyDeleteThe USA roads are much faster than in India, and so the rules are naturally formed and roads are engineered for certain speeds. The laws in USA are constantly broken, but it's just the fact that breaking certain rules will get you killed due to the high speeds.
In India, people are not that scared of cutting off other cars and crossing junctions because the speeds are slower. It is very easy to brake and wait for a few cycles to cross, even on a highway. However, this lawlessness may result in much faster source to destination times. Since people can just weave through traffic as they wish, the social interactions allow more natural flow of traffic. We must carefully assess where we place the blame for these deaths. Some of these deaths could have been vehicle-to-human deaths, not necessarily vehicle-to-vehicle collisions.
This is a misleading information. You can't count car accidents alone. It should be road/auto accidents. That include trucks bikes and every road driven including pedestrain. If this is the situation US has more fatalities. Given worst road condition and population poor driving habits Indian drivers still doing good. Please refer Internet resources.I saw in one website India standing at way low when compared to US. http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/road-traffic-accidents/by-country/
ReplyDeletegod damn ..u are an Indian right...Indians can never take anything bad about thetmselves down their throat...
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