Representativeness and Weighting Methods of Real Time Accident Data in India 2013-26-0022

The 2011 Report of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India states that the total accidents with injuries is estimated about 497, 686 out of which the injuries are 511, 394 and fatalities are 142, 485, an average of one fatality per 3.5 [1]. Social losses on account of these crashes are estimated at over Rupees 100 000 Crores annually or 3% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [2]. The irony is that these causalities are rising at 5.9 % annually. India accounts for 10% of the global road crash fatalities. Therefore traffic safety became very important in India. In order to understand the root causes of accidents data is needed in more detail which could be analyzed and points out the major issues to find solutions to stop this trend. Besides vehicle safety, infrastructure related issues and education skills can be derived out of accident data.

Official statistics regarding accidents in India are available in national and state wise reports. More detailed information about accident causes, accident conditions and consequences are roughly obtained. There is a lack of engineering data in the available reports. To address traffic safety related issues like infrastructure, driving behaviour and benefit of vehicle safety systems more detailed accident data is needed.