The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, declared January 2025 as Road Safety Month, calling on all stakeholders to collaborate to make roads safer.
Every year, globally, approximately 11.9 lakh people die in road traffic crashes. In India, between 2009 and 2019, road traffic crashes were the 13th largest contributor to the health burden (Road Safety in India Status Report 2023, IIT Delhi). In 2022, Karnataka alone accounted for 8.6% of the road fatalities in India. As per the Karnataka State Police’s annual report, in 2023, the share of crashes increased by 9%, fatal crashes increased by 7%, and cases of grievous injuries increased by 18% as compared to 2022.
Road safety is a public health issue. Crashes not only cause emotional, mental, and financial trauma to the loved ones of victims, but also place an immense healthcare and economic burden on the State and the country. According to a World Bank report, Traffic Crash Injuries and Disabilities: The Burden on Indian Society, about 75% of lower income households and 57% of higher income households reported a decline in total household income after a crash.
The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 aims to halve deaths by 2030. Often dubbed a silent pandemic, road deaths and injuries are unacceptable since they are largely preventable.
Studies suggest that even a single, well-designed, evidence-based road safety campaign can reduce crashes from 8.5% to 9%. Mass media campaigns have long been used to change attitudes, raise personal risk perceptions, and shape social norms to promote safer behaviours. The World Health Organization reaffirms the value of such targeted mass media campaigns.
One of the ways to reduce road traffic injuries is to focus on key risk factors, such as speeding, helmet and seat belt use, and drink driving. To ensure road safety, communication campaigns along with sound legislation and law enforcement have the most influence. For example, Bogotá, Colombia, implemented four campaigns on speeding paired with enhanced enforcement operations to intensify speed management efforts between 2018 and 2019. The campaigns were also supported by media strategies such as journalist workshops to help build the narrative on the importance of these actions. This contributed to a decrease in speeding from 39% to 21% during that period and helped prevent an estimated 73 deaths. These results resonated with citizens, who realised that the lives saved could have been their own or their loved ones.
In India, Karnataka adapted the global best practices by pairing a mass media campaign to reduce speeding with enforcement by the police. Between December 2023 and January 2025, the Karnataka State Road Safety Authority implemented three mass media campaigns. In December 2023, the mass media campaign addressed speeding by sharing the moving story of a crash survivor who was left permanently disabled because of a speeding driver. The campaign reached an estimated 2.3 crore adults in Karnataka. An evaluation of it revealed that for over 90% of the respondents, the campaign generated the intended concern about speeding and motivated them to comply with posted speed limits.
The second campaign, launched in January 2024, focused on correct helmet wearing. The third, implemented from December 2024 to January 2025, was an instructional-style mass media campaign explaining the science of a crash. It focused on how even a slight difference in speed can decide the chance of a crash and its severity. The Karnataka police conducted targeted enforcement drives on speeding while disseminating the key message at checkpoints and through social media.
While these results are positive, one campaign is not enough. The culture around road safety in India must shift from unavoidable accidents to unacceptable tragedies. Repeated messaging on the need to follow speed limits set by the government, and other risk factors, such as correct helmet use, can drive long-term behavioural change. Enforcement should continuously focus on the risk factors and strategies to improve compliance. A public narrative must be built to portray enforcement as a preventive measure rather than a punitive one. In doing so, roads can be safer for all.
Dr G. Gururaj is an epidemiologist, public health consultant, and road safety advisor; and Vaishakhi Mallik is Director, Communication, India at Vital Strategies
Published – March 10, 2025 01:40 am IST
