Key Takeaways
- The Road Safety Summit 2023 united IIT Madras and Greater Chennai Police to address rising road fatalities.
- VEERA initiative was demonstrated, showcasing new extrication tools for faster emergency response.
- 2021 data showed 1,00,038 deaths in rural India versus 51,379 in urban areas, highlighting a critical safety gap.
Chennai: IIT Madras’ Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS) on Wednesday partnered with the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) to host ‘Road Safety Summit 2023’.
Accidents and emergencies have been the deadliest causes for an alarming increase in deaths and Disability-Adjusted Life-Years (DALYs) in India.
According to data released by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for 2021, road accident deaths in rural India (1,00,038) were almost twice that of urban India (51,379).
In many cases, the impact of an accident leaves a wreckage that makes it difficult to extricate the victims within the ‘platinum 10 minutes’.
A IIT-M release said As a result, rendering timely medical aid is hampered potentially leading to preventable fatalities. The evacuation requires specialised training, equipment and techniques for vehicle extrication.
Towards this, the ‘Vehicle for Extrication and Emergency Rescue in Accidents’ (VEERA) initiative was launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on September eight.
A demonstration of VEERA and the extrication tools were provided today at IIT Madras by trained first responders of the Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP).
Highlighting the need for such initiatives, State Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena said Road safety was a global concern, especially in countries like India.
“In 2021, 412,432 accidents occurred and we lost 1,53,972 lives due to road crashes with another 3,84,448 people being injured. In our State, 55,682 accidents took place during 2021, and in the
same year, one lakh lives were lost”, he said.
“These figures are quite alarming. We have a lot of work to do in this direction”, he added.
