From Mission to Action – Future of Road Safety in Tamil Nadu

Road safety in India has reached a scale that warrants a sustained, coordinated, mission-mode response. The recently released Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) data for the year 2024 records 4,87,707 road accidents and 1,77,175 deaths across the country. Tamil Nadu reported 67,526 accidents and 18,449 deaths, according to the data. Among all the states, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents, underscoring the gravity and urgency of the challenge. Road safety initiatives require multiple stakeholders to work together over multiple time frames.

As a member of the Road Safety Network, the Citizens Consumer and Citizen Action Group (CAG) had earlier discussed the need for a National Road Safety Mission to address the road safety crisis in a coordinated and sustained manner with Tiruchi Siva, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. 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, multi-agency coordination, dedicated resources, measurable goals 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 an annual allocation of around ₹500 crore. It is an important opportunity to strengthen and consolidate road safety efforts in Tamil Nadu. Measures announced include technology enforcement through ANPR cameras, strengthening emergency response by upgrading government health facilities and linking them to accident-prone locations, and other initiatives.

Tamil Nadu already has several institutions, committees and initiatives that deal with various aspects of road safety. Implementation remains spread across departments of transport, police, highways/HR, health, urban development and others. The value of this mission should be to bring these existing efforts into a common framework with political ownership, shared goals, clear departmental accountability, sustained funding, and regular review. The mission can provide a platform for managing access to a safe system across the state – linking policy and action on speed control, safer road infrastructure and vehicles, protection of vulnerable road users and children, effective law enforcement and post-accident and trauma care. Crucially, departments should be reviewed not only for the activities carried out, but also for measurable results in reducing deaths and serious injuries.

A comprehensive action plan

A logical and important tool for this mission would be a comprehensive State Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) that provides a clear plan for implementation. The plan should recognize that road deaths and serious injuries are preventable and that responsibility for safety must be shared across the transport system in line with an internationally recognized safe system approach. It should set clear, measurable targets for reducing fatalities and translate access to safe systems into concrete interventions including road infrastructure, appropriate speed control, safer vehicles, effective risk-based enforcement, protection of pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users, safer school travel, driver and fleet safety, emergency and trauma care and post-accident response. It should clearly define the responsibilities of relevant departments and agencies, identify the resources required, ensure sustainable funding, establish timetables and ensure regular monitoring and independent evaluation.

Importantly, the State Action Plan should not remain a broad statement of intent. It should translate state-level priorities into district-level road safety action plans based on each district’s specific risks and needs. Each problem identified should lead to a defined intervention with a designated agency responsible for implementation, budget, time frame and measurable indicators of progress. This would also help address one of the persistent gaps in road safety – the policy-implementation gap.

A data-driven approach

The Center of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS) at IIT Madras, a road safety think tank under the MoRTH, has developed a comprehensive implementation framework, Data Driven Hyperlocal Intervention (DDHI). To facilitate the implementation of this program, CoERS deployed Sanjaya, an integrated road safety portal. This helps key stakeholders analyze data to support decision-making and monitor implementation, providing an accountability platform with the ability to create data-driven action plans and monitor implementation.

The approach brings together relevant data from police, transport, highways, health and other agencies to identify and prioritize risks, support evidence-based interventions and enable government to track implementation across districts. Most importantly, it could link each identified risk to a proposed intervention, responsible agency, funding, timeline and outcome. Regular reviews could then assess not only whether the intervention was completed, but whether it actually reduced the risk, crashes and serious injuries. Together, they can transform the mission from a political commitment to evidence-based, coordinated action with clear responsibilities and measurable outcomes.

Tamil Nadu has an opportunity to demonstrate how existing road safety initiatives can be brought together under a coordinated, measurable and results-oriented mission of a safe system. The immediate priority should be to provide a clear framework for the mission, including a comprehensive national road safety action plan integrated with the Sanjaya platform. The experience could also serve as a model for a similar mission approach at the national level and in other states. The greater challenge is not necessarily the absence of road safety initiatives, but the merging of policy, institutions, funding, implementation and accountability into one enduring mission framework to achieve the ultimate goal of reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

(Dr. Venkatesh Balasubramanian is Professor, Department of Engineering Design & Head – RBG Labs & Center of Excellence for Road Safety, Indian Institute of Technology Madras; S. Saroja is Executive Director, Citizen Consumer & Citizen Action Group, Chennai.)

Published – October 9, 2026 12:29 PM IST