Global road safety charity fund of the International Road Assessment Programme (IRAP) has initiated its risk assessment program to address high risk roads around the country. The initiative in India would be supported by a $200 million corpus fund donated by global logistics provider FedEx.
"Safety is at the core of what we do and we are committed to bring positive changes in the world. We are a key support of the UN Road Safety Collaboration and Global Alliance of NGOs advocating road safety," said Shane O' Connor, communications adviser, FedEx Services.
"We will be focusing for the next 12 months on understanding the needs of the programme in India, and allocate funds as per need," Connor added.
“The India chapter of International Road Assessment Programme will bring together government, investment, research and NGO partners from across the country,” said Rob McInerney, chief executive officer, International Road Assessment Programme.
According to Mclnerney, the road assessment program would primarily be based on IRAP's in-house star-rating methodology (five star - safest, one star - least safe) as well as investment planning tools, which provide in-built safety components in road design for all road users.
“IndiaRAP will seek to eliminate one-star and two-star unsafe roads and to become a leader in promoting the design and construction of brand new five-star, safe and smart motorways in the country,” added McInerney.
The IndiaRAP will be headed by Jignesh Bhavsar, an IIT-Mumbai graduate, as the technical head of the program. He will be assisted by a team of six others to coordinate with state and city agencies in assisting them to have safer roads.
India, has the reputation of having the least safe roads and the highest road accidents in the world. More than 150,785 lives are lost on Indian roads every year, accounting for 17 lives lost on roads every hour in the country.
India will host the World Road Meeting of the International Roads Federation in 2018, and is aiming to have a road safety bill passed in Parliament.
Nitin Gadkari, minister of road transport and highways, had committed assistance to the programme for conducting an evaluation of accident blackspots on national highways.
The IndiaRAP office will be based out of the Asian Institute of Transport Development (AITD), Delhi, and will receive the renowned institute's expertise on all matters, said K.L. Thapar, chairman AITD.
"The IndiaRAP programme will be guided by the star-rating system and will have local experts, using local research and resources to save lives on roads," said Bhavsar.
The programme finds support from World Bank and Asian Development Bank as well, and all their road project investments in India would be mandatorily assessed by IndiaRAP.
A local capacity building of road safety experts, individuals and more importantly of non-profit organizations working for the cause of road safety in India, are all bound to find a common platform in the program.
The IRAP programme had so far addressed road safety concerns by bettering roads across 17 nations. Their recent intervention in China received huge support from the government, which is aiming to build 3 lakh kilometers of roads.
The programme, however, is due to face its toughest challenge in India, where a mixed road use pattern and even animals complicate the situation. The challenge to improve Indian roads could only come close to what IRAP faced in Venezuela, said Mclnerney.
