'Spreading awareness key to reduce road fatalities'

To bring down the number of road accident fatalities, there is a need to spread awareness, enforce existing laws and allow safety compliant vehicles on road, say experts.
"India accounts for 11 per cent of road fatalities in the world and 17-18 per cent of those happen in urban areas.
"In order to bring down these numbers there is need to spread awareness about road safety and implementation and enforcement of road safety laws strictly," International Road Federation Chairman Kiran K Kapila said at a seminar organised by Indians for Road Safety.
He further said all vehicles must be safety compliant and that last mile connectivity vehicles like quadricycles must ensure that all safety features are on board before they are allowed to ply on public roads.

"If a four-wheeler is to be safer than a 3-wheeler it should pass all crash and safety tests before being allowed to ply on Indian roads, " he said.
"The accident rate as well as the efficacy of safety measures (of quadricycles) must be proven in crash tests before they can be on the roads," Advocate Tripurari Ray of Supreme Court said.

At present, homegrown auto major Bajaj Auto is the only company in India manufacturing quadricycles.
The company showcased the product in 2012 but could not launch it as it got mired in legal tangles due to multiple petitions in various high courts.

Last month, Bajaj Auto announced that it has decided to start exporting its quadricycle 'Qute', earlier known as RE60, to 16 countries while it awaits the Supreme Court verdict to introduce it in the domestic market.
The four-wheeler mini passenger vehicle would be sold in Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia at a price of around USD 2,000.