e-DAR portal to speed up accident compensation claims

• A web portal designed by the government in consultation with insurance companies will provide instant information on road accidents with a few clicks and help accelerate accident compensation claims, bringing relief to victims’ families.

e-DAR Portal

• Developed by Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
• Digitalised Detailed Accident Reports (DAR) will be uploaded on the portal for easy access.
• The web portal will be linked to the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD).
• From iRAD, applications to more than 90% of the datasets would be pushed directly to the e-DAR. Stakeholders like the police, road authorities, hospitals, etc., are required to enter very minimal information for the e-DAR forms.
• Thus, e-DAR would be an extension and e-version of iRAD.
• The portal would conduct multiple checks against fake claims by conducting a sweeping search of vehicles involved in the accident, the date of accident, and the First Information Report number.
• It would also be linked to other government portals like Vaahan and would get access to information on driving licence details and registration of vehicles.
• For the benefit of investigating officers, the portal would provide geo tagging of the exact accident spot along with the site map.
• This would notify the investigating officer on his distance from the spot of the incident in the event the portal is accessed from any other location.
• Details like photos, video of the accident spot, damaged vehicles, injured victims, eye-witnesses, etc., would be uploaded immediately on the portal.

About Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD)

• Developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) and will be implemented by the National Informatics Centre.
• Its mission is to take necessary corrective measures and control accidents by analyzing the real causes of increasing road accidents across the country.
• The project costs ₹258 crore and is being supported by the World Bank. IRAD is a comprehensive web-based Information Technology (IT) solution and will enable various agencies such as the police, Public Works Department (PWDs),etc. to enter details on a road accident from different perspectives such as investigation, road engineering, vehicle condition etc.

Working of IRAD

• It will enable police personnel to enter details about a road accident, along with photos and videos, following which a unique ID will be created for the incident.
• Subsequently, an engineer from the Public Works Department or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile device.
• He or she will then visit the accident site, examine it, and feed the required details, such as the road design.
• Data thus collected will be analysed by a team at IIT-M, which will then suggest if corrective measures in road design need to be taken.
• Road users will also be able to upload data on road accidents on a separate mobile application, which is expected to go live from 1st April 2020.

State of Road Accidents in India

• Road Accidents killed as many as 47,984 people on National Highways (NHs), including on expressways, during 2020 and 53,872 people killed in 2019.
• Globally, road accidents account for 1.3 million deaths and 50 million injuries. Of this, India’s contribution to the fatalities is 11%.
• Major Causes:

Initiatives related to road safety:

• International
  • Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety (2015):
    • Signed at the second Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety held in Brazil.
• India is a signatory.
  • The countries plan to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 i.e. to half the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2030.
  • UN Global Road Safety Week:
    • Celebrated every two years
    • The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) :
    • A registered charity dedicated to saving lives through safer roads.
• India:
  • Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019:
    • Hikes the penalties for traffic violations, defective vehicles, juvenile driving, etc.
    • Also provides for a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, which would provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India for certain types of accidents.
    • Provides for a National Road Safety Board, to be created by the Central Government through a notification.
    • Also provides for the protection of good samaritans.
  • The Carriage by Road Act, 2007:
    • Provides for the regulation of common carriers, limiting their liability and declaration of value of goods delivered to them to determine their liability for loss of, or damage to, such goods occasioned by the negligence or criminal acts of themselves, their servants or agents and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
  • The Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2000:
    • Provides the control of land within the National Highways, right of way and traffic moving on the National Highways and also for removal of unauthorised occupation thereon.
  • The National Highways Authority of India Act, 1998:
    • Provides for the constitution of an authority for the development, maintenance and management of NHs and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
    • Comic books Swachha Safar and Surakshit Yatra have been been released, with an aim to create awareness among children about road safety.
    • VAHAN (an ICT-based solution for vehicle registration) and SARATHI (for licencing) app to curb malpractices in issuing licences and vehicle registration.
    • Setu Bharatam programme to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019.

Way forward

• The safety of roads needs to be seen as a public health issue rather than a transportation issue. There is a need to focus on the behavioural change in society now. Road safety should be dealt with in a mission mode. The design of roads needs to be thoroughly audited before any action regarding the same takes place. Road safety needs to be assured from the mobility point of view as well, how to move goods and ourselves in a better, faster and safer way. The vulnerable population of the society should be given top priority while ensuring the safety regarding road accidents. The road designing should be done in such a way that the most vulnerable user is safe, eventually making the better protected ones safe as well.

Exam Track

Prelims Takeaway

• e-DAR Portal
• iRAD
• Brasilia Declaration
• Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019

Mains Track

Q. India has one of the highest death rates caused by accidents on the road. Discuss what initiatives are taken by the Government so far to mitigate this problem and also suggest a way forward.