Road Accident Investigation and

Good Practices

Bhushan G Borase, AD, SVPNPA. Mob – 8970123366, [email protected]

 Contents
• Patterns of accident across India
• Good Investigation Practice
• Good Practices in other countries
• National Level Efforts in India
• Success Stories in Road Safety in India
• Check list for IO
 Black Box Thinking – Matthew Syed
• Nitrogen injection in fuel tank
• Smoke detectors and fire proof material
• Collision avoidance system and better ATC
• (Altitude – odd/even)
• Dumping the idea -“Captain is God”
• Redundant Safety Systems and better engine
inspections
• Data collected, published and discussed
• Black box data is shared and discussed
Hand wash Can save millions of lives !!
• One in every four
childhood deaths – some
1.4 million – under age
five globally result from
diarrhea and pneumonia-
UNICEF
• Just hand washing with
soap can reduce death
rates from pneumonia and
diarrhea by up to 65%
What Drivers Say about Safety ???
• Old Vehicles • Pedestrians at Signal
• Old Tyres • No FIR registration
• Time pressure • Old age
• Two Driver policy not • Night blindness
followed • Color blindness
• No willing Cleaners • Drunken Driving (40%)
• Used as ATM • Kerala - Safest
• Bus – Auto conflict
 Statistics
2016 2017 2018
Accidents 4,80,652 4,64,190 4,74,638

Deaths 1,50,785 1,47,913 1,52,780

Injuries 4,94,624 4,70,975 4,49,981

Murders 30450 28653 29,017

 Fatalities in last few years
154000
152780
152000
150785
150000

148000 147913 Fatalities

146000 146133

144000

142000
2015 2016 2017 2018

About 10,000 children killed in accidents

26 lakhs are injured seriously in accidents annually
 Quiz !!!!
• Distribution of Accidents
• NH, SH, DH or Rural Roads
• Causes of accidents - ??
• Alcohol effect – HP & Bihar Statistics
• Do we have a standard road accident recording
form?
• Fatal and Non Fatal – is nomenclature right?
 Roads & Accident Distribution
NH SH District/
Rural/Urban

Length of
the road 1.8 % 3.1% 95.1 %

Accidents 30% 25% 45%

Deaths 36% 27% 37%

MoRTH – Road Accidents in India 2017 Report

 Statistics
• Over speeding – 43.7 % (IPS 279 – Rash driving)
• Dangerous Driving – 32 %
• Weather – 4 %
• Vehicle defect – 3 %
• alcohol- 2%
• Punjab & UP – More cases of fatal accidents than
non fatal accidents
• 24 % accident near residential areas
• 11 % near pedestrian crossings
• 6 % near schools and colleges
 Causes of Accident
A Vehicle Faults that can lead to road accident

1 Low Capacity of vehicle (hilly areas, overload)

2 Electrical components failure

3 Very old vehicle

4 Brake failure

5 Clutch failure

6 Old tyres – less grip or tyre burst

7 Indicators not working

8 Headlights not working

 Causes of Accident
Driver Errors

1 Driving without license / competency

2 Drunken Driving

3 Use of Mobile

4 Over speeding

5 Rash and negligent behavior

6 Driving for more than prescribed time (tired)

7 Physically unfit/ sick/ colorblind/ eyesight problems

8 Aggressive driving/ overtaking at curve or blind spot

9 Incorrect seating position / incorrect mirror position

10 Lack of rest facilities on highway/ highway crimes

 Causes of Accidents
Driver Errors

10 Loud music / video

11 Lack of following distance

12 Wrong lane / overtaking from wrong side

13 Parking vehicle on highway in night without indicators

14 Glare of light of opposite vehicle

15 Multiple vehicle overtaking

16 Family/ work related stress

17 Tight schedules for buses/ trucks

18 Competition in picking up the passengers (cabs)

 Causes of Accidents
Environmental Error

1 Significance of defensive driving not known to public

2 No specific attention while road expansion/ widening to road

safety
3 No institutional mandatory training on defensive driving

4 Most of the black spots in the country still unattended and no

reduction in accidental deaths. Rather new black spots are getting
added with passing time
5 Systematic intervention on highway to reduce accidents not
institutionalized
6 No mechanism to alert drivers about accident black spots other
than sign boards
7 Ad hoc response by commuters and bystanders

8 Not evaluating safety levels required

 Seating Position
• Foundation of the driving
• Sitting comfortably is not sitting correctly
• Incorrect seating position. [Especially too far back]
• Sitting too low and having reduced visibility over
the steering wheel.
• Incorrect hand position on the steering wheel.
• Incorrect seating position.
• Arms too stretched or bent for effective control of
steering wheel.
• Failure to ensure adequate visibility.
• Driving with inappropriate footwear
 Accident Investigation – Texas, USA
• Injury, fatality, damage > $ 1000 to be investigated
• Lookout message
• Marking wheels before moving vehicle
• Gasoline puddle, oil puddle, blood, pieces of
broken glass etc,
• Position of turn indicator lever, alcoholic
beverages, position of light knob.
• Before shifting –
position noted, marked, sketched, photographed
and videographed.
 Accident Investigation – Texas, USA

Retrace Path of the vehicles –

Visibility, signs, signals, road conditions, traffic

volume, possible distractions, angles of view

Vehicle Search and Inspection –

Tires, brakes, lights, steering, signals, safety
equipment like seat belt etc
• Sketches - Help to explain the accident.

1. Establish base point –Trees, electricity pole, wall

etc

2. Show final position of the vehicle, occupants and

damage to the vehicle is indicated in the sketch

3. Skid and scuff marks, scratches on the vehicle,

dent in the pavement – They help to determine
speed of the vehicle
• Debris – Helps to know point of first contact

• Outline of the area in which debris has spread

should be shown in the sketch

• It is spread in an elongated pattern in direction of

travel

• Travel at same height to understand visibility and

obstructions
 Photography -
• Scene, approach to the scene, fixed objects in the
background to establish the scene
• All four sides of accident spot with N,E,S,W marks
• Close up of damaged parts
• Night time photography
Vehicle Inspection –
1. Contact Damage and Induced Damage
2. Tire and rim condition
3. Light condition
4. Mirror – Quality, position , 5. Use of alcohol
 Some Good Practices
• Filament recovery and forensic examination
• Alco breath analyzer test/ Blood Test/ Viscera
analysis
• CDR analysis / IPDR Analysis
• Interacting with the localites / local staff
• EDRs may record – brakes
- the speed
- the steering angle, and
- seat belt circuits
( Ford Fiesta)
Good Practices In other Countries
Singapore – 5.6 Mn Population
About 10600 Children get killed in road accidents in India every year
• Vietnam – Helmet Wearing increased from
40-95 % after laws became stringent.

• Cambodia – Helmet wearing increased from

15-30 %

• Sao Paulo, Brazil – 20.6 % reduction in traffic

fatalities by – diagonal crossing
- pedestrian only zones
- speed limit reductions
• They work best at
intersections where
pedestrian traffic is the
heaviest, especially in
areas where walkers
outnumber motorists.
• Tokyo
• Los Angeles
• From 2007-13, projects in Kenya placed stickers in
the back of long-distance minibuses featuring
messages such as “Don’t let a reckless driver get
away with murder”.

• UK – 94 % seat belt compliance

• Costa Rica – Awareness and Enforcement lead to

seatbelt use from 24% -82%
Accident reduction in Hilly Areas
Shri Rohit Malpani, SP
 Analysis Kinnaur: RADMS & Google
Maps Last 5 years accidents Kinnaur
District
• 50% of the accidents in past 25 20191819
1617 14

Number
20 15
seven years in District 15
10
1 2 0 0 3 2
4
8
5
1210 14
8 10 8 10

Kinnaur happened between 5

0

4:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Time
Pattern Analysis: Analysis of accidents of past seven years
• Mapping of probable accident time
• Identifying black spots : Plotting of coordinates
• Major accidents in PS Reckong Peo : Within the town radius of 5km
• Major accidents in PS B /Nagar : NH – 05 at Choling, Wangtu, Palingi and
Nathpa (Nathpa Jhakri dam, Karcham Wangtoo dam)
• Major accidents in PS Sangla : Sangla Bazaar and Satluj – Baspa
intersection
• Major accidents in the PS Pooh : Moorang – Spillow, Ribba area
NH – 05 Ferozpur Shipki La Highway parallel to River Satluj
 Cops on the Dots
• Check posts set up between 4 pm-10 pm
• 400 Drunken driving cases in 4 months
• 362 Driving Licenses sent for suspension
• 158 actually suspended
• Given wide publicity
• 50000 pamphlets distributed
• 12 breath analyzers were purchased at 4.5
lakhs
Results
Himachal – Kangra Valley accident
(23) killed, 10 April 2018
Golden Hour Concept
 “GOLDEN HOUR CONCEPT”
1918
Original data supporting the 'Golden Hour' concept
produced from French World War I data.
'In World War I, there was a real appreciation of
the time factor between wounding and adequate shock
treatment. If the patient was treated within one hour,
the mortality was 10 percent. This increased markedly
with time, so that after eight hours, the mortality rate
was 75 percent.'

Time from injury Mortality

1 hr 10 %
2 hr 11 %
3 hr 12 %
4 hr 33 %
5 hr 36 %
6 hr 41 %
8 hr 75 %
10 hr 75 %

This data was subsequently used by R. Adams

Cowley in his 'Golden Hour' concept
 STAKEHOLDERS

1. Government Ambulance and Government Doctors

2. City Police

3. Private Ambulance Owners

4. Private Hospitals

5. Auto–rickshaw Drivers

6. People of City

14.1.2012 – CP Salem Shri K C Mahali

 PRE-HOSPITAL TRAUMA CARE TRAINING
(FIRST AID TRAINING)
Imparted To The Auto-Rickshaw Drivers By St.John Ambulance
 PRE-HOSPITAL TRAUMA CARE TRAINING
(FIRST AID TRAINING)
Imparted To The Police Officers By St.John Ambulance
 RESCUE OPERATION BY POLICE, PUBLIC, AUTO-
RICKSHAW DRIVERS AND PARAMEDICAL STAFF

Pulliannan (53), s/o Chinnapian, 4/3 Krishna Nagar, Mamangam, Salem, Shekhawath (52), s/o Hussain, Jagir Reddy patty, Salem.

Madeswaran-(55), s/o Alagesan, Ayyamperumampatty,Salem Venkatesh(44), s/o Jayapal, 520/37 New Trichy Sub- Road, Linemedu,
 ANALYSIS
2012 2013
Kind of Vehicle No. of Persons No. of Persons
Percentage Percentage
Rescued Rescued
EMRI 108 Ambulance 516 56% 340 37%
Private Ambulance 238 26% 105 12%
Auto-rickshaw 118 13% 349 38%
Private Vehicle 50 5% 116 13%
Total 922 100% 910 100%

5%
13%
13%
Private
Vehicle
Auto
rickshaw 37%
EMRI 108
Ambulance
EMRI 108
Private Ambulance Auto-rickshaw
Ambulance 56%
26%
38% Private
Ambulance

12%

2012 2013
 TN Initiatives
• Shri Amresh Pujari – ADGP
• Use of RADMS and Data Analytics
• Addl SP appointed as Road Safety Nodal Officers
• Reporting and reviewing pattern for
enforcement changed
• Monthly review at State PHQ
• Road Safety performance included in PAR
• A dedicated Road Safety Control Room at PHQ
• Road Safety Medals initiated
• Highway Patrol System Revamped
• Road Safety Equipment worth 7.52 Cr purchased
• Enforcement was the game changer.
• 1,87,213 licenses suspended between Aug 2017
–Jan 2018 ( https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/number-of-road-accident-deaths-in-tn-on-
the-wane/article22755752.ece dated Feb 15 2018)

• Black spot analysis with IIT Madras

• Repair of Black spots with the help of NHAI
• Deployment of Ambulances by algorithm
developed by IIT Madras.
• Result – 1061 deaths reduced in 2017
Chhattisgarh Police Initiatives
 Go to “parivahan.gov.in” site
Under Online Services Click on “Driving License Related Services” activity
Select Chhattisgarh state on Dropdown Menu
Click On Login option
Enter your User Id and Password
Under Enforcement menu Click on “OFFENCE DETAILS” activity
Select License Type as DL and enter DL Number to get License details....
Then Enter all fields and select sections from Pop-up Box...
After Entering all Fields click on Submit Button to save
incident (Offence )Details
Please Note the Inward Number which is automatically generated
for future purpose(Issuing Show Cause Notice etc.)
In below screen please enter Inward no whose Show Cause Notice is not
generated.
If Inward no is not known then click on Inward no List to get the list whose
Show Cause Notice is not generated.
After Clicking on DL Number a pop window will be opened by generating
Show Cause Notice of that DL No.
In Enforcement menu Click on “OBJECTIONS ” activity.
Case 1)License Suspend
Case 2)License Cancel
In below screen please select Date whose Proceedings is not generated.
After Suspension /Cancellation,DL is not Eligible to apply for any service
Guidelines for Road Signage's under PMGSY
 MoRTH
• Regional Officers
• They prepare annual action plan every year
in May-June
• They have contingency fund at their disposal
• They are posted in 20 States of the country.
• Name/ Contact details attached herewith
 Awareness Needed
• Motor Vehicle Rules 1989
• Rule 11 - the applicant possesses adequate
knowledge and understanding the traffic
signs, traffic signals and the rules of the road
regulations.
• Code of Practice for Road Signs : IRC -67
 8 Bus bays are created
 1 Free left passage constructed
BEFORE AFTER

KSRTC BUS STAND

KSRTC BUS STAND

MAHAVEERA CIRCLE
MAHAVEERA CIRCLE
BEFORE AFTER
Fencing barrier at black spot (Induvalu Village)
Vegetation removal at Junctions
Reflective Barricades instead of Speed breakers
Learning from Barricade Experiment
• Use two , instead of • Changed to
three. • Gap – 42 feet
• Intial gap 40 feet • Entry 10 feet
• Entry – 11 ft • Exit 8 feet
• Exit -9 ft
• Speed improvement
• 5 – 22 km/hour
78
HIGHWAY PATROL VEHICLES RUNNING ON NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
 Good Practices by Traffic Police
• SMS Service – Kolkata Police – Challan

• Contactless fine – By use of CCTV camera

• SMS on towing of vehicles

• Body worn camera – Mysuru Police

• Body worn lights – Kolkata Police

• Blackberry phones – Bengaluru Police

• Boom barriers at signals – Kolkata Police

• Whatsapp/ facebook/ twitter/ website to report offence

 Six Takeaways from the session
Following actions can reduce accident deaths
1. Maximum possible Drunken Driving cases
2. Maximum possible suspension of driving licenses
3. Maximum possible cases for use of mobile
4. Maximum possible cases for not wearing helmet
and seat belt
5. Cases for not following lane discipline
6. Cases for over speeding