Page 20 - Trafficinfratech Magazine April 2023 Digital Edition

ON THE COVER

Anupam noted on what space for a given parking lot. We
might be causing such shifts, need to move to self-propelled
“it’s quality that will save the road marking equipment, that
day, and counterintuitively, it’s eliminates the scope of human
not always costly. Keeping to error from the challenge of marking
standards is paramount. Even extensive distances, as on the new
presence of speed limit markings Bundelkhand Expressway.”
goes a long way. And so is the
awareness of safety products and Type of accidents and
technologies across the board. As costs
expert partners, we bridge any
knowledge gaps with ease and our Peering closer, the share of road
ingenuity, whereas regulators chip accidents by type in India in 2020 There have been
in with enforcement. And we serve was 33% for fatal accidents, 35% monumental changes,
solutions across the span – rural for minor injury accidents, and 32% but the indigenous
roads to top end expressways.” of or non-injury accidents. A study
conducted by the MoRTH found technology for road
And about retroreflective
fabrics he observed them to be a that the socio-economic costs of markings have moved
road crashes are over ₹1,47,114
set of products that seem to be crore or 0.77% of India’s GDP. little. Fault free function
showing benefits. “Retroreflective of imported retro-
applications are increasingly being With such daunting costs,
used on fabrics given the role Anupam raised the need to be very reflectometers can
they play in personnel safety. This cautious. Given the diversity and make a key difference
is across environments and not geographical span of our roads, between life and death.”
just for applications to ensure he insisted that both traffic and
road safety. Interestingly when personnel safety were important. Nitin Nakhat
consulted, we are simply asked for Tyre punctures are a fairly common
retroreflective tape and associated inconvenience drivers face. When
solutions. When we enquire making repairs, all drivers put up as is mandatory as well. This is not
back about wash cycles, product a marking – if at all – is the reflective quite alike the campaigns on use
life span, we don’t hear back triangle. But that is not sufficient. and enforcement of wearing seat
responses that assure us that our What about the safety of the belts while driving. And while
customers have a deep knowledge person making repairs on a road we educate about this, we need
of solutions they invest in. Of area? In Europe, it’s mandatory support through infrastructure as
course, this needs to change.” to wear a retroreflective jacket of well. Here is what I mean – the
Although the percentage share standard and a triangle displayed.” provision of a retroreflective jacket
needs to be part of the standard
of the three broad categories of This of course raised the all- equipment, included on purchase
roads (National Highways, State important question on how a of a vehicle.”
Highways, and other roads) in the dilemma inherent challenge
total road length is highly uneven, could be resolved. But he added Primary causes
the distribution of the number helpfully, “You can only go to
of road accidents, fatalities and an extent to educate about the According to MoRTH, the large
injuries in 2020 among these road risks and need of safe road use. number of road accidents were
categories was much less skewed. Beyond that enforcement takes traced to human error, poor
Nitin Nakhat brought in over. Consider the example road infrastructure, and vehicle
condition, as primary causes.
an astute observation about of repair of tyre punctures
continued safety on roads of all mentioned. We need to enforce Enforcement of safe driving
types, “On high-speed highways, that while carrying out repairs, practices does play an important role
our machines can lower fatalities it’s not just the retroreflective and Neha agrees, “There is good
by 30~40%. Our road marking triangle that’s necessary but collaboration between solution
solutions can unlock 35% more wearing a retroreflective jacket providers and regulators and

20 TrafficInfraTech / April 2023 / www.trafficinfratech-com-500653.hostingersite.com