Ayanangsha Maitra
New Delhi: India’s road-safety challenge is increasingly an economic issue, with crashes hurting the workforce, families and growth, a ministerial panel at Transport Bhawan said Friday.
At a road-safety and smart-mobility event convened by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra stressed the need for a comprehensive approach involving safer roads, safer vehicles, responsible driving and faster emergency response.
Malhotra has previously said that road safety is a prime concern for the government, noting that India has identified and addressed thousands of accident-prone locations. He said 14,000 dark spots have been eradicated so far, either permanently or temporarily.
The reference to “dark spots” goes to more than dangerous stretches of asphalt. These are locations where recurring crashes make road design, engineering and preventive intervention a matter of life and death.
A road-safety problem with an economic price tag
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Mahmood Ahmed, underlined the scale of the challenge, describing safe roads as a top priority.
“Safe Road [is] top priority,” Ahmed said, according to remarks shared at the event, pointing to annual road deaths of around 170,000 and the disproportionate impact on people in the 18-45 age group.
The economic consequence is equally significant. Ahmed linked road-safety-related deaths and injuries to an estimated 3.5% to 4% impact on GDP.
That connection turns road safety from a transport-sector concern into a broader development issue. When people in their economically productive years are killed or seriously injured, the loss extends beyond the immediate medical or compensation bill — affecting household incomes, workforce participation, productivity and long-term economic security.
Independent research has similarly documented a substantial economic burden from road crashes in India. A national road-safety plan cited estimates of GDP losses of about 3% from road accidents and related fatalities and injuries.
Government cannot do it alone
Ahmed stressed that the government cannot address the challenge by itself.
“Govt can’t work alone, centre and private players essential,” he said, emphasising the need for cooperation among governments, vehicle manufacturers, road agencies, industry and civil society.
The approach, he suggested, must cover the entire road ecosystem — from road quality and design to vehicle structural integrity, enforcement, driver behaviour and post-crash assistance.
“We have made Body code,” Ahmed said, referring to the regulatory focus on vehicle safety and structural standards.
Malhotra has similarly emphasised that road safety requires sustained action across multiple areas, including responsible behaviour by road users, compliance with traffic rules, road engineering, timely assistance to accident victims and proper vehicle maintenance.
Youth at the centre of the road-safety conversation
The government’s road-safety challenge is also increasingly being pushed into the youth space.
The Youth Safety & Smart Mobility Expedition 2026, flagged off by Malhotra from Transport Bhawan, is designed to sensitise young people to road safety, responsible driving and smart mobility. The expedition involves a convoy of electric vehicles travelling towards Chandigarh.
For Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, CEO and Secretary General of PHDCCI, the youth component is central to building a culture of safer mobility.
The broader idea is to make young people not merely passengers in India’s mobility transformation, but active participants in road-safety awareness, responsible driving and the transition towards greener transport.
The proposed “Sarak Suraksha Mitra” initiative is also aimed at bringing more young people into road-safety awareness and institutional planning, according to the inputs shared at the event.
From safer roads to greener roads
The discussion also connected road safety with India’s transition towards sustainable mobility.
Ahmed pointed to green mobility and sustainable mobility, while highlighting the evolution of India’s vehicle and emission standards, including BS-IV and BS-VI, as part of the country’s broader mobility transition.
But greener mobility, speakers suggested, cannot come at the expense of safer mobility. Electric vehicles, smarter traffic systems and cleaner technologies must operate within an ecosystem where roads, vehicles and human behaviour are designed to work together.
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