From mission to action – future of road safety in Tamil Nadu

Road safety in India has reached a scale that warrants a sustained, coordinated, and mission-mode response. Recently published data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for 2024 records 4,87,707 road crashes and 1,77,175 fatalities across the country. Tamil Nadu, as per this data, reported 67,526 crashes and 18,449 fatalities. Among all the States, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road crashes, underlining the magnitude and urgency of the challenge. Road safety initiatives require multiple stakeholders to work together across multiple time frames. 

The Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG), as a member of the Road Safety Network, had earlier engaged with Tiruchi Siva, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, on the need for a National Road Safety Mission to address the road safety crisis in a coordinated and sustained manner. This proposal was subsequently raised in Parliament by Mr. Siva, earlier this year. The rationale for such a Mission is similar to the broader mission-mode approach adopted for complex public health challenges: the problem requires sustained attention, coordination across multiple agencies, dedicated resources, measurable targets, and continuous monitoring, rather than a series of isolated interventions.

Recently, the Tamil Nadu government announced in the Assembly, the Chief Minister’s Road Safety Mission, with a reported annual allocation of about ₹500 crore. This is an important opportunity to strengthen and bring together road safety efforts in Tamil Nadu. The announced measures include technology-enabled enforcement through ANPR cameras, strengthening emergency response through the upgrading of government health facilities and linking them with accident-prone locations, and other initiatives.

Tamil Nadu already has multiple institutions, committees, and initiatives working on different aspects of road safety. Implementation remains spread across Transport, Police, Highways/PWD, Health, Urban Development, and other departments. The value of this Mission should be in bringing these existing efforts together under a common framework, with political ownership, shared targets, clear departmental accountability, sustained funding, and regular review. The Mission can provide the platform to drive a Safe System approach across the State — bringing together policy and action on speed management, safer road infrastructure and vehicles, protection of vulnerable road users and children, effective enforcement, and post-crash and trauma care. Crucially, departments should be reviewed not only on activities undertaken, but on measurable outcomes in reducing fatalities and serious injuries.