Assessing the Black Spots Focused Policies for Indian National Highways

Abstract

Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) is one of the leading causes of death across the globe. As per the Indian government statistics, 150,785 persons were killed and 494,624 injured in road traffic crashes in the year 2016. In the recent past Government of India has formulated policies to reduce the road traffic crashes on Indian highways with prime focus on the National Highways (NHs). One of the dimensions of these policies is the identification and rectification of black spots on NHs and State Highways (SHs). Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) provides a definition and protocol for identifying black spots, and subsequently, states have identified black spots on their NHs. Top priority has been accorded to the correction of black spots on NHs. Consequently, short-term measures such as rumble strips, reflective stickers at junctions, fixing signboard/cautionary board, providing signages and various other speed restrictions are also being used. Whereas, the long-term measures such as the construction of the vehicular underpass, by-pass, flyover, and lane widening are being taken up. This study aims to present the current scenario of the policies pertaining to black spots in the country. This study assesses the effectiveness of the policies focused on the identification and rectification of black spots on the NHs. Further, it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the policies based on the outcomes of the audit conducted to review the road safety status on Indian Highways. This study also recommends the measures to improve the safety at black spots locations.