LIVE COVERAGE OF RV DEBATING TOURNAMENT ON ROAD SAFETY & SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

The RV Debating Tournament 2012, conducted with the support of Michelin India, is one of the biggest tournaments in India that will focus on issues long championed by Michelin. RV college who is soon to be hosting the largest annual student competition in the world ,WUDC where more than a thousand university students aggregate in places across the world and participate in a week long competition .

The current debate which will happen over the weekend covers many intuitive topics on issues that affect our lifestyle, some of which Michelin has championed for long. Issues such as policies on road safety that needs to be tackled through innovative ideas, Sustainable mobility which is fast becoming a buzz word for most manufacturers as well as government policies. Also new progressive ideas that may very well become tomorrow’s policies such as tax rebates for contributions to road safety raises a number of interesting issues that will be debated by among the best debaters in the country.

These tournaments are a great place for students to get acquainted with the issues of road safety and sustainable growth and take the first step to having a tangible understanding of these issues that will be affecting them in their day to day lives.

You can catch the knockouts of this event live on our Blog at 1^st October 2012 – 2pm onwards

The Path to Safer Roads

It’s a generally well-accepted fact that India’s road infrastructures and number of drivers are increasing at breakneck speeds, sadly literally as well as figuratively. In 2011 and 2012, India has been the dubious record-holder of the world’s highest number of road accidents according to the World Health Organization.

Admittedly, with such a large population, India’s statistics are bound to be dramatically high. But the numbers are appalling; in 2010 alone, 130,000 people were killed in car accidents, and numerous non-lethal injuries were sustained. The truth of the matter is that India’s road safety track record is very poor and the country has been paying dearly for it. According to one report, an average of 15 people dies every hour in automobile accidents in India. From a financial standpoint, traffic accidents have a huge economic impact, in terms of infrastructural and healthcare costs and victims’ compensation. A decade ago, a Planning Commission of India report estimated that the ignorance of the rules of the road incurred a cost amounting to 3% of the country’s GDP, or about 55 000 crore rupees at the time, a colossal amount for something that could be sharply reduced with a little road safety education.

But policies designed to tackle this growing concern have been lackluster. While the United Nations has declared 2011-2020 as the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’, India has yet to organize anything related to this effort. The National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board Bill, which should have laid down a framework for road safety rules, has yet to be passed. Once again civil society has been more reactive than the administration. The Indian chapter of the International Road Federation, an NGO promoting road maintenance and development around the world, has submitted a proposal to the Union Finance Ministry asking for extension of tax benefits in the coming Union Budget for companies and individuals contributing to road safety. This reward-based stance could be the beginning of a positive move for road safety in India as it encourages personal initiative for road safety education and could potentially provide more efficient and tailor-made road education than a State-designed program. We can only hope this works. Until then, drive safely and feel free to share your stories and opinions in the comments below.

Let’s Pool Our Efforts for Sustainable Mobility

Cities are often said to be shaped by their mass transit system. For anyone commuting in Chennai and experiencing increased traffic congestion this is a relevant issue. Years of urban planning experience have shown that a collaborative approach is the only way that can actually embed sustainable mobility into the bustling city.

Aside from the emergence of new technologies in transportation, fuel and urban design, the shaping of new business models and collaborative partnerships is also fuelling urban planning. A platform such as City Connect (a partnership between the Confederation of Indian Industry CII, Tamil Nadu and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) created in 2007, which brings together industry, government and civil society stakeholders around urban India, has proven to be a crucial step towards an overarching approach to transport issues.

An example of this effort to pool various points of view and skills: Chennai City Connect, backed by Michelin India, has recently hired consulting firm Civitas to study the autorickshaw sector in Chennai. The report is now out and gives constructive insight into how to enhance sustainable mobility in Chennai.

Please share your thoughts on how to prevent lively Chennai from becoming a dead-end and turn it back into the crossroads it once was!

2nd annual intelligent transport systems India highlights tantalizing outlooks for Indian road traffic

Over 100 million vehicles are already on India’s roads. The number may seem remarkably high, yet given the population of India and its projected growth, clearly India’s roads will become increasingly clogged in the very short term. Dealing with the population growth involves numerous challenges across the board, among which managing skyrocketing traffic on Indian roads is top of the agenda. Efficient and optimized traffic is key to ensuring safer roads, faster rides and minimum environmental impact of cars. In view of this challenge, the Intelligent Transport Systems India conference (intelligence transport india link) is emerging as a leading platform for defining and discussing key issues and outlining feasible solutions.

The second conference held this year saw the meeting of key stakeholders and provided participants with the insights from many specialists at the forefront of ITS design. During the two-day event that brought together public and private stakeholders, the main upcoming challenges for road transport management were addressed, cutting edge solutions potentially benefiting everyone from consumers to commuters, including drivers and pedestrians were outlined with paths for enhancing the safety, speed and efficiency of road transport systems in India. Above all, the conference was an outstanding example of how new solutions to industrial challenges could have wide and far-reaching benefits for a country on the fast lane of economic growth.