Governance and Public Health Synergies: Lessons from systematic review of road safety research in India

Abstract

The rising number of road accidents is one of the most pressing public health and development concern of the present time. Despite various efforts, India reports the world’s highest number of road accident fatalities. This paper employed the Systematic Literature Review technique to analyze existing road safety research in India to draw lessons for effective road safety governance. Three databases—Science Direct, PubMed, and JSTOR were searched and 6,293 articles were screened. A total of 86 articles were included.

Findings revealed that in line with global trends, the majority of the victims of accidents are males, belonging to the economically active age group (18-45 years) and vulnerable road users are the worst affected in India. Driver error, poor road engineering and poor enforcement of laws are the main reasons for accidents. As road safety involves multiple actors and stakeholders, establishment of cohesive multi-sectoral agency is required to strengthen institutional mechanism for road safety efforts. A lead agency with the capacity to develop and coordinate road safety measures supported by accurate and quality data for evidence-based policies and strategies is the most pressing requirement for effective road safety governance.