Founded | 29 February 2008 |
---|---|
Type | Non-governmental Organisation |
Headquarters | New Delhi, India |
Website | http://www.savelifefoundation.org |
SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization focused on improving road safety and emergency medical care across India. [1] SLF combines evidence-based research with policy advocacy, communication, and on-ground execution of projects in the two areas of crash prevention as well as post-crash response. Over the past few years, SLF has facilitated the enactment of the Good Samaritan Law in India, which insulates lay rescuers of injured victims from ensuing legal and procedural hassles. It has also adopted the Mumbai Pune Expressway to transform it into a Zero Fatality Corridor, trained several thousand Police personnel and citizens in basic life-saving techniques, and built technology platforms to assist road users and those interested in road safety.
SLF is registered as a Public Charitable Trust under the Indian Trust Act, 1886 and Sections 12A & 80G of the (Indian) Income Tax Act, 1961.
In the past decade, over one million people have been killed in road crashes in India. Close to six million have been left seriously injured or permanently disabled. [2] Road crashes are the single biggest killer of young people, aged 15 to 45 years in India. An alarming number of families have fallen into poverty after losing their primary breadwinners to road crashes. According to the 12th Report of the erstwhile Planning Commission of India, road crashes lead to an annual economic loss equivalent to 3% of India's annual GDP. [3] In August 2013, the Supreme Court of India termed the problem of road crash deaths a "National Emergency". [4] SLF was established to reduce the burden of death and injury due to road crashes.
SLF was founded on 29 February 2008 by Piyush Tewari, following the death of a young cousin in a road crash. In response to the incident, Piyush studied the issue of road safety in India and discovered the enormity of the problem. He then invited his friend and mentor Kishen Mehta [5] to join him in setting up SLF with a mission to save lives on India's roads.
SLF started by training police personnel, the first responders in most road crash cases, in basic life-saving skills. [6] SLF then expanded its mandate to focus on a Good Samaritan Law for India, which would enable bystanders to become active rescuers by insulating them from ensuing legal and procedural hassles. On 30 March 2016, the Honorable Supreme Court of India, enacted a binding set of policies to protect Good Samaritans, in response to a public interest petition filed by SLF. More recently, SLF has played a key role in the drafting and introduction of a comprehensive Road Safety bill in the Indian parliament. SLF has further expanded its operations to include implementation of best practices on the ground. Its initiatives to make the Mumbai-Pune Expressway fatality-free by 2020 is in line with its renewed mission.
To achieve its objectives, SLF operates across the four broad areas of Research, Advocacy, Communication and on-ground implementation of best practices. [7]
SLF regularly conducts primary research driven by surveys and on-ground data collection. The research feeds into SLF's activities in the areas of advocacy, public communication and on-ground implementation of best practices. Some of the research studies that have resulted in significant public interest have been listed below.
Impediments to Bystander Care in India
In 2013, SLF undertook India's first diagnostic study [8] to trace the real causes which make Indian bystanders reluctant to help the victims in times of emergency. [9] It revealed that three out of four people in India are reluctant to help road crash victims and for a majority, this reluctance stemmed from a fear of being dragged into protracted police investigations and legal hassles. [10] This study affirmed the urgent need for unequivocal laws to support and protect Good Samaritans in India. [11]
Distracted Driving in India: A Study on Mobile Phone Usage, Pattern and Behavior
SLF and Vodafone India Ltd. partnered to study the issue of distracted driving in India. the initiative aimed to understand how Indians use mobile phones while driving, to educate them about the dangers of the same, and to develop a tool to reduce incidence of distracted driving. [12] Under this initiative, SLF undertook a national survey and published country's first of its kind report [13] titled 'Distracted Driving in India: A Study on Mobile Phone Usage, Pattern and Behavior' which revealed that a high number of people in ten Indian cities admitted to actively using mobile phones while driving despite knowing about its ills. [14] The study not only created conversation around the issue of distracted driving, but also recommended interventions [15] in legislation, enforcement and education to address it. [16] It pointed out how no specific data was being collected by the government to estimate mobile phone usage on roads [17] and finally in 2016, for the first time, the annual publication by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways contained a table on crashes attributed to mobile phone usage in India. [18]
Road Safety in India: Public Perception Survey
In 2017, SLF undertook a ten-city public perception survey to converge popular opinion on key issues of Road Safety in India, which was published at a time when the Rajya Sabha was set to discuss the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill. [19] Among other crucial findings, the survey revealed that 6 out of 10 in the country admitted to getting license without giving a test [20] and the same was indicated when the Minister of Road Transport and Highways initiated a debate on the same bill in Lok Sabha in April, asking how many MPs had appeared for a driving test and barely a few hands went up. [21] The study also revealed that 8 out of 10 road users in India felt unsafe on the roads. [22]
Good Samaritan Law
The Law Commission of India, in its 201st Report, stated that 50% of those who die on Indian roads can be saved if they receive timely medical attention including assistance from bystanders. However, SLF undertook a survey study which found out that most bystanders in India are hesitant to help the injured due to fear of harassment and intimidation at the hands of police and hospitals. Taking cognizance of the same, SLF petitioned the Supreme Court of India to issue directions for the protection of Good Samaritans in road crash cases. On 30 March 2016, in a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court issued guidelines for the protection of Good Samaritans. [23] [24] By invoking Article 141 and 142 of the Constitution, the court gave these guidelines a force of law across India.
Ban on trucks carrying protruding rods
SLF undertook a detailed analysis of the injuries and deaths caused by trucks carrying protruding rods and found out that such protruding overloads, mainly iron rods, claimed nearly 40,000 lives and injured over 1 lakh people in 99,384 crashes in just two years. The organization then petitioned the Supreme Court to facilitate a ban on protruding rods. The petition demanded that the owner of transport company or persons hiring the vehicle and the driver may be made jointly liable under the civil and criminal law for crashes caused by such protrusions, trucks carrying iron rods and bars of pipes stationed on the road or roadside be barricaded by traffic cones and reflector tripods with visibility of 50 meters and that all states adopt uniform regulations in respect of stationary or stalled vehicles on highways.[ citation needed ]
Responding to the apex court's directions in the PIL proceedings, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways deleted the provision in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 which allowed protrusions up to one meter. In August 2016, the Supreme Court finally ordered strict implementation of the ban on trucks and trailers with iron rods or pipes dangerously protruding out and also called for strict action against those trucks that are illegally parked in the middle of the roads. [25] [26]
Stronger Road Safety Law
Acknowledging the need for a comprehensive road safety law for India, SLF in March and April 2014, organized high-level consultation meetings with stakeholders from ten states to deliberate the same and develop actionable recommendations to address the identified issues. [27] The primary recommendation from this exercise was that India needs a comprehensive Road Safety law and it was advocated that the existing Motor Vehicles Act 1988 be repealed to pave way for the new law. Subsequently, SLF's advocacy with the Government of India culminated in the Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014. [28] However, after several states shelved the passage of this bill, [29] it got replaced by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill which was recommended by SLF, and got unanimously passed by Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament, in April 2017. [30] The Bill now awaits passage by the upper house of Indian parliament, Rajya Sabha.
In order to engage the public to improve their behavior on the road and make them aware of their rights and duties, SLF regularly carries out communication and awareness campaigns. Some are listed below.
TV Campaign
SLF produced a short film to increase awareness about the consequences of distracted driving. This film was a part of SLF's awareness campaign on the dangers of distracted driving and was telecast across the State of Karnataka in 2017. [31]
Print Campaign
SLF has undertaken print campaigns on awareness regarding the Good Samaritan law. [32]
Radio
SLF has also undertaken radio campaigns to increase seat-belt usage, and awareness around the Good Samaritan law.
Mumbai-Pune Expressway: India's first Zero Fatality Corridor
SLF with support from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), initiated the 'Zero Fatality Corridor' project to make the expressway fatality-free by 2020. [33] Since August 2016, over a thousand engineering errors on the expressway have been fixed. As a part of this project, the 'Safety Under 80' campaign was also jointly launched by SLF, MSRDC and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. The initiative aimed at creating mass awareness on the dangers of speeding and the consequences of speeding were exhibited through outdoor hoardings and installation of crashes cars on both the corridors of the expressway. [34]
Jeevan Rakshak Program
Jeevan Rakshak is a training program focused on imparting basic life-saving skills to Police personnel as well as ordinary citizens. [35] The program was developed by SLF in partnership with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Over 10,000 police personnel and volunteers in over six States and Union Territories have been trained so far. [36]
ADAPT: Anticipatory Driving and Accident Prevention Training Program
SLF conducts the 'Anticipatory Driving and Accident Prevention Training' program for commercial as well as regular drivers. [37] The program uses blended learning techniques to reinforce key strategies for crash prevention. Since its inception, SLF has trained over 3,000 drivers in ten States and Union Territories across India.
Online Victim Support Center
Through its website, [38] SLF provides information on safety tips, emergency response, emergency numbers and how to save a person's life under the 'Check, Call and Care' protocol. [39] It also provides a list of organizations and schemes for post-crash care and treatment for victims including both hospital care and rehabilitation. [40] It also developed a calculation tool which aids victims in estimating the compensation quantum and procedure in such cases. [41] This information is available free-of-charge.
Vodafone-SaveLIFE 'Road Safe' Mobile Application
In 2017, SLF partnered with Vodafone India to tackle the issue of distracted driving. As part of the initiative, a mobile app 'Road Safe' was launched in April, 2017 for both Android [42] and IOS users. [43] The app aims to enable distraction-free driving and includes features focused on driving safely and responding to emergencies. [44] Besides providing information on traffic fines, safety tips, nearest emergency network systems, the app has a feature called the 'Automatic Crash Detector', which employs the phone's accelerometer to detect sudden drop in vehicle speed and provides automatic voice enabled emergency response assistance. [45] [46]
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, and passengers of on-road public transport.
Tuen Mun Road is a major expressway in Hong Kong which connects Tuen Mun with Tsuen Wan, within the New Territories. It is part of Hong Kong's Route 9, which circumnavigates the New Territories. Opened in 1978, it was once the major trunk route linking the northwest New Territories to urban Kowloon and is known for its frequent traffic jams and road accidents owing to its early design and heavy usage. As a result, speed limits have been enforced to 70–80 km/h (45–50 mph) due to geometric constraints.
The Mumbai–Pune Expressway is India's first 6-lane wide concrete, access-controlled tolled expressway. It spans a distance of 94.5 km connecting Raigad-Navi Mumbai-Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state and the financial capital of India, with Pune, the cultural and educational capital of Maharashtra. The expressway, which was fully operationalized in 2002, introduced new levels of speed and safety in automobile transportation to Indian roads. It is one of India's busiest roads.
Mobile phone use while driving is common but it is dangerous due to its potential for causing distracted driving and subsequent crashes. Due to the number of crashes that are related to conducting calls on a phone and texting while driving, some jurisdictions have made the use of calling on a phone while driving illegal in an attempt to curb the practice, with varying levels of efficacy. Many jurisdictions have enacted laws making handheld mobile phone use illegal. Many jurisdictions allow use of a hands-free device. Driving while using a hands-free device has been found by some studies to provide little to no benefit versus holding the device itself and carrying on a conversation. In some cases restrictions are directed only at minors, those who are newly qualified license holders, or to drivers in school zones. In addition to voice calling, activities such as texting while driving, web browsing, playing video games, or phone use in general may also increase the risk of a crash.
Transportation safety in the United States encompasses safety of transportation in the United States, including automobile crashes, airplane crashes, rail crashes, and other mass transit incidents, although the most fatalities are generated by road incidents annually killing 32,479 people in 2011 to over 42,000 people in 2022. The number of deaths per passenger-mile on commercial airlines in the United States between 2000 and 2010 was about 0.2 deaths per 10 billion passenger-miles. For driving, the rate was 150 per 10 billion vehicle-miles: 750 times higher per mile than for flying in a commercial airplane.
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Nitin Jairam Gadkari is an Indian politician from Maharashtra who is serving as the 40th Minister of Road Transport & Highways in the Government of India since 2024. He is also the longest serving Minister for Road Transport & Highways, currently in his tenure for over nine years. Gadkari earlier served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2009 to 2013.
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims takes place on the third Sunday in November every year as the appropriate acknowledgment of victims of road traffic crashes and their families. It was started by the British road crash victim charity, RoadPeace, in 1993 and was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005.
A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Traffic collisions often result in injury, disability, death, and property damage as well as financial costs to both society and the individuals involved. Road transport is statistically the most dangerous situation people deal with on a daily basis, but casualty figures from such incidents attract less media attention than other, less frequent types of tragedy. The commonly used term car accident is increasingly falling out of favor with many government departments and organizations, with the Associated Press style guide recommending caution before using the term. Some collisions are intentional vehicle-ramming attacks, staged crashes, vehicular homicide or vehicular suicide.
Texting while driving, also called texting and driving, is the act of composing, sending, or reading text messages on a mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle. Texting while driving is considered extremely dangerous by many people, including authorities, and in some places has either been outlawed or restricted. As a form of distracted driving, texting while driving significantly increases the chances that a driver will be involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Distracted driving is the act of driving while engaging in other activities which distract the driver's attention away from the road. Distractions are shown to compromise the safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians, and people in other vehicles.
Wang Yue, also known as "Little Yue Yue", was a two-year-old Chinese girl who was run over by two motorists on the afternoon of 13 October 2011, in a narrow road in Foshan, Guangdong. As she lay bleeding and unconscious on the road for more than seven minutes, at least 18 passers-by skirted around her body, ignoring her. She was eventually helped by a female rubbish scavenger and sent to a hospital for treatment, but succumbed to her injuries and died eight days later. The closed-circuit television recording of the incident was uploaded onto the Internet, and quickly stirred widespread reaction in China and overseas.
Traffic collisions in India are a major source of deaths, injuries and property damage every year. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2021 report states that there were 155,622 fatalities, highest since 2014, out of which 69,240 deaths were due to two-wheelers. A study by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, U.S. shows that the use of seat belts significantly reduces the risks and injuries from road accidents, and yet there is no enforcement on use of seat belts in cars. A study by IIT Delhi points out that the national highways constitute only 2% of the length of roads in India, but they account for 30.3% of total road accidents and 36% of deaths.
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Piyush Tewari is an Indian social entrepreneur, focused on improving road safety, access to emergency medical care and urban governance across India. He is the Founder and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation, and best known for his work to pass a Good Samaritan Law in India. In 2016, GQ Magazine named him as one of the most influential young Indians. In 2014, Tewari was featured as an expert on Satyamev Jayate, a popular TV show on social issues, hosted by actor Aamir Khan. The episode Tewari was featured in was focused on the epidemic of road accidents in India.
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India's Good Samaritan Law was passed as a Bill by the Supreme court of India on March 30, 2016, and gave the "Force of Law" to the guidelines for the protection of Good Samaritans and then issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. In the consecutive months, the state governments have passed GO. Later, it was included in the draft of Motor Vehicles Act 2019. Also issued were operating procedures for Good Samaritans. Important points stated are
The Zero Fatality Corridor (ZFC) is a road traffic safety model relevant for low- and middle-income countries. The model originated in India and was developed by the Indian non-profit SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF). The model aims to reduce the number of road crashes and consequent injuries, damages and fatalities.
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