![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2012\/08\/venkat_narayan4-150x110.jpg\")
Today I received a sad email about a 24 year old family friend who died in a road traffic accident in Mumbai.\u00a0 Rohan Sardar skid on the road while riding his bike, suffered a head injury and, after much delay at the ill equipped, civic run Shatabdhi Hospital, was moved to Kokilabai Dhirubai Ambani Hospital where he died. His family and friends are devastated.<\/p>\n
India boasts the second fastest growing motor vehicle market in the world with an annual growth rate of nearly 9%. In terms of vehicle ownership,\u00a0 India currently ranks 134th in the world with only 41 vehicles per 1000 persons\u2014by comparison the US is third with 797 vehicles per 1000 persons. The future market for motor vehicles in India is huge and still untapped, and the motor vehicle industry drools at the prospect of this market of 1.2 billion people.\u00a0 But what about safety?<\/p>\n
India\u2019s road traffic accident statistics are appalling.\u00a0 It already has around twice the number of deaths from road traffic accidents as the US (18.9 deaths per 100 000 people versus 10.4 per 100 000).\u00a0 When statistics are computed for deaths per 100 000 motor vehicles, India\u2019s record is even more startling at almost seven times that of the US (100 deaths per 100 000 motor vehicles compared to 15 deaths per 100 000). Nearly 150 000 people die from road traffic accidents each year in India compared to around 33 000 in the US. Most deaths in India are pedestrians, cyclists, and two-wheel riders.<\/p>\n
One of India\u2019s sources of potential is her young population, and most\u00a0economists\u00a0agree that this \u201cdemographic dividend\u201d is vital to the country\u2019s future. This potential will remain unrealized if India does not take action to prevent premature deaths from avoidable injuries\u2014such as road traffic accidents.<\/p>\n
That\u00a0so many die from preventable road traffic accidents\u2014and that there is a\u00a0lack of\u00a0easy access to emergency head injury care\u2014should be unacceptable to a modern India that aspires to the global stage.\u00a0 The chaotic growth of traffic on Indian roads needs to tempered with better public transport, better road infrastructure, greater enforcement of traffic laws, and increased citizen awareness.\u00a0 If over 800 million people can be mobilized in the largest election in the world, India can do anything if she sets her mind to.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the tragic story of Rohan Sardar tugs at the heart and speaks loudly to a failure of public health and road safety policy in India.<\/p>\n