Editorial 2: ​​Death on the move

Context

Road accidents in India are failing to trigger any meaningful overhaul of the country’s infrastructure or licensing system.

Introduction

The Chevella highway accident on November 3, 2025, which claimed 19 lives, underscores India’s chronic road safety crisis. Despite thousands of preventable deaths each year, poor infrastructure, weak enforcement, and broken licensing systems persist. The tragedy highlights how road fatalities—unlike air disasters—fail to trigger urgent reform, exposing deep systemic neglect of everyday public safety.

The Chevella Tragedy — A Symptom of a Larger Crisis

• The November 3, 2025 accident near Chevella, Hyderabad, which killed 19 people, is yet another reminder of India’s grim road safety record.
• A truck swerved to avoid a pothole and collided with a bus and on a stretch without dividers, lights, or signages.
• India loses over 400 lives daily in road accidents to equivalent to a major air crash every day.
• Yet, unlike aviation disasters, such tragedies rarely provoke systemic reform, as most victims belong to vulnerable and poorer groups.

Broken Licensing and Regulation System

• The driving licence test in India focuses only on vehicle handling, not on safe driving behaviour or road discipline.
• No formal safety training or awareness of defensive driving practices is required.
• Rear-end collisions dominate accident data, showing tailgating and reckless lane use go unchecked.
• Corruption and inefficiency in RTOs weaken driver certification; hence experts urge for digitised “License Seva Kendras” like modeled after Passport Seva Kendras  to ensure transparency and accountability.

Poor Infrastructure and Non-compliance

• One in five crashes are head-on collisions, even on four-lane roads by  pointing to wrong-side driving and missing dividers.
• Many national highways ignore Indian Roads Congress (IRC) standards, and States fail to enforce mandates under the Motor Vehicles Act.
• Roads often have potholes, sharp curves, and rigid structures but lack crash barriers or energy absorbers.
• Collision-warning systems for commercial vehicles are affordable and should be made mandatory.
• Pedestrian safety remains neglected, despite forming a large share of fatalities.

Weak Trauma and Emergency Care Network

• In Chevella, immediate medical help was available nearby and  an exception rather than the norm.
• In many States, especially Bihar, fatality rates double due to poor trauma care and delayed response.
• India urgently needs a comprehensive road safety overhaul and  integrating safe infrastructure, driver training, strict enforcement, and emergency response: to end this silent national epidemic.

Conclusion

India’s road safety failures are neither random nor inevitable as they stem from apathy, weak governance, and disregard for vulnerable commuters. Reform must go beyond blame to systemic change: transparent licensing, strict design enforcement, and robust trauma care. The Chevella tragedy should mark a turning point toward roads that protect, not endanger, the lives of ordinary citizens.