Speed detection device in preventing road traffic accidents: A realistic approach in India!

Dear Editor, Globally, about 1.25 million people die because of road traffic crashes every year. Although low‑ and middle‑income countries have only half of the total vehicles, they contribute nearly 90% of all crashes in the world. In India, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), there was an increase in the total number of accidents, persons injured, severity of injuries, and deaths in 2015 as compared to 2014. In 2015, there were nearly 5 lakh accidents, 5 lakh injuries, and 1.5 lakh deaths in India. In 2015, Indian cities with more than 1 million populations together accounted for 22.1% of total accidents in India. The road accident‑related deaths among the cities were reported to be 14.9/100 accidents and varied from 2.6 (Mumbai) to 66 (Amritsar). Vehicular speed is an important component in all phases of injury prevention as proposed in Haddon Matrix. Vehicular speed is the most important risk factor for road traffic accidents, injuries, severity, and deaths. At any point in time, half of the drivers in urban areas are above the speed limits. Controlling the speed, when mobility is essential, is highly important. A mean reduction in vehicular speed by 10% can result in nearly 37% reduction in road traffic accidents and injuries. Results of a systematic review showed the greatest impact of reducing speed on road traffic accidents, injuries, and deaths when speed limits are combined with other traffic engineering measures such as humps and environmental measures such as speed cameras and speed detectors. About 90% of pedestrian injuries can be avoided if vehicles are driven at 30 km/h compared to 50% when driven at 45 km/h, especially where vulnerable road users are common. Evidence from other countries has demonstrated the impact of speed detector in reducing the road traffic crashes and injuries. Automated Speed Enforcement Program in France, started in 2003, demonstrated a significant reduction in road traffic crashes and injuries as high as 19.7%. In the USA, cities with red‑light camera enforcement have significantly lower road traffic crashes and injuries compared to other cities. A systematic review of studies has reported consistency in reduction of road traffic injuries and death due to speed camera intervention; however, heterogeneity among studies could not draw a conclusion on magnitude of reduction. According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015, India recorded the highest number of deaths (1.4 lakh) among all countries. MoRTH, …