Seventy-three percentof survey respondents from India have a family member or close friend who has died or been seriously injured in a car crash, and 82% of these incidents occurred during the pandemic, a third-party independent research commissioned by 3M has said.
The survey results for India revealed elevated concern about transportation and roadway safety since the start of the global pandemic. More than three out of four respondents believe transportation access is an issue in their community. In addition, about 67% of respondents believe road safety is more important as more people travel by car, instead of airplane or train, for vacation/trips due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Safety and visibility concerns
According to 3M, the poll was conducted by Morning Consult between October 9 and 26, 2021, among a sample of 22,000 adults in 11 countries - Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, UK and the US. The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted based on gender, age, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
Dan Chen, President of 3M Transportation Safety Division, says, 'The results of our global survey reaffirm that improving road and transportation safety around the world must remain a top priority, especially as the number of traffic collisions rises in many countries. Helping families get home safely has never been more important, and we are committed to continuing our work in improving access to safe transportation and developing safety solutions across the globe.'
Driver Behaviour
The report said that around the world, people are highly concerned about the behaviours of other drivers, visibility issues and road conditions.
Top seven concerns for Indians:
Safe, Reliable Transportation
People in India believe their communities should do more to help people safely access various transportation options. Seventy-eight percent of respondents believe transportation access is an issue in their community and 67% of respondents think COVID-19 has made it more important to improve road safety so that vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians can safely co-exist as people avoid public transportation.
More than half (52%)feel they do not have reliable and safe access to roads for driving and nearly half (49%) feel they do not have reliable and safe access to public transportation.
Ranking high among community transportation safety concerns, three-quarters of parents are concerned about safely getting their children to and from school.
In 2020, the Indian government recorded 120,000 deaths due to negligence relating to car crashes. On average, 328 people lose their lives every day despite the COVID-19 lockdown. (National Crime Records Bureau)
Approaching Holiday Season
As the holiday season approaches, Indians anticipate long-awaited travel plans and concerns around road safety are top of mind.
According to the findings:
As per the survey, people in India believe their communities should do more to help people safely access a variety of transportation options. More than three out of four respondents (78%) believe transportation access is an issue in their community; 67% of respondents believe road safety is more important as more people travel by car, instead of airplane or train, for vacation/trips due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An equal number of respondents think COVID-19 has made it more important to improve road safety so that vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians can safely co-exist as people avoid public transportation.
More than half (52%) feel they do not have reliable and safe access to roads for driving and nearly half (49%) feel they do not have reliable and safe access to public transportation.
Parents' Concern
Most parents in India (79%) are concerned about safely getting their children to and from school; 40% take a school bus, 35% are driven in a personal vehicle, 39% take a motorcycle, and 34% bike to school.
About 70% of Indians strongly agree that their community should make streets safe for children travelling to school.
Pawan Kumar Singh, Country Business Leader for Transportation Safety Division, 3M India, says, 'Around 150,000 fatalities occur on Indian roads every year, 3M India is dedicated to working with relevant stakeholders to improve road safety through our innovative and customised products for Indian road conditions. Our mission is to help authorities build the safest roadways to help bring families home safely.'
Reflective sign sheeting, ink, and overlays from 3M increase visibility and driver recognition of these signals. Studies have found that where more-visible signs are installed, crash numbers have fallen up to 46% within three to six years, the company said.