The “Zero-Fatality Corridor” (ZFC) model identifies high-fatality stretches of roads and facilitates the implementation of solutions across Engineering, Enforcement, Trauma Care and Community Engagement, to save lives. The solutions are designed specifically for low-resource settings. For instance, instead of deploying more ambulances to improve response times, the existing fleet is optimised using data science. Similarly, to treat a high-fatality intersection with flawed design, a tactical redesign is undertaken with cones, barriers and high-visibility paint.
The model has delivered an over 50% drop in fatalities across 1500 kilometers of roads and has been recognised by the Indian Government as the definitive solution to save lives on Indian roads.
The impact: By systematically targeting and mitigating the breadth of factors contributing to road fatalities, SLF has delivered a 52% reduction in road crash fatalities on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway Zero Fatality Corridor from 2016 to 2020 through this solution. The project has achieved this by rectification of over 3,500 engineering errors, proactive assistance to over 47,000 vehicles to prevent rear end collisions, training of 855 first responders in Basic Trauma and Life Skills and 5,780 drivers in Anticipatory Driving & Accident Prevention Skills.
Building on the success of the pilot ZFC project, SLF received Maharashtra government permission to replicate the model on Old Mumbai Pune Highway on National Highway 48, one of the deadliest highways in the state. The solution on the stretch has enabled 54% reduction of road crash fatalities on the stretch. The project has witnessed rectification of 2,699 engineering errors including closing of gap in median, installation of retro reflective signages; enhanced enforcement mechanism through dedicated patrol vehicles; identification and eradication of blackspots on the stretch; and training of 509 bystanders in Basic Trauma and Life Support.
The ZFC projects on Mumbai - Pune Expressway and NH 48 have been recognised nationally with the projects being awarded the SIAM Road Safety CSR awards in 2018 & 2019 respectively. Globally, the Mumbai - Pune ZFC was featured on the World Economic Forum as well.
ZFC’s six pronged approach: The ZFC model employs a unique 6-step approach to achieve tangible and lasting impacts. They are as follows:
- Coalition Building – SLF selects a high-fatality road and forms a project coalition with the local State government and a corporate funding partner to initiate the project.
- Data Analysis – SLF triangulates data from multiple sources including Police department and via in house forensic crash investigation to identify the definitive causes of crashes on the target corridor.
- Conduct onsite audits – SLF conducts multiple audits to specify the location, time, nature and repetitiveness of the causal factors on the target road.
- Implement Solutions – SLF designs and implements tactical solutions across 4 Es of road safety and advocates with State governments to own permanent interventions through investment.
- Impact assessment – SLF engages Police and third party agencies to evaluate the progress against the primary metric, reduction in road crash fatalities on the ZFC.
- Replication and Scaling – SLF exponentially increases impact by engaging new partners to implement the ZFC model on additional highways in India and beyond.
Crash Vulnerability Audit
Definition: A Crash Vulnerability Audit (CVA) is a thorough safety audit of a road section designed to identify and rectify potential causes of crashes and fatalities to create a 'Zero Fatality Corridor'.
The purpose of the CVA is to identify all safety-critical issues under road engineering, traffic enforcement, post-crash care, and road-user behaviour in order to create comprehensive solutions for safer roads. The audit lists the specific issues and provides recommendations to address them.
Methodology in brief: The scope of the CVA ranges from analysing data from various sources including but not limited to Concessionaire, Police, and Health Department to undertaking detailed field audits. The field audit of the road section consists of a reconnaissance survey, video recording of the entire segment during the day and at night, and identification of road crash vulnerabilities across the 4Es of road safety.
The CVA enumerates each of the identified risk factors that reveal the extent of improvements required. Based on the analysis, the CVA lists, in detail, all identified issues followed by detailed intervention for each issue - that needs to be undertaken along the audit stretch. Finally, the CVA recommends various measures to improve the overall safety of the highway.
Different Phases of CVA: In the first phase of the CVA, data is obtained and digitised into spreadsheet format, analysed to understand the common issues such as times and locations of the crashes.
The second phase of the audit identifies the vulnerabilities on the project stretch. The safety audit team conducts a thorough on-ground investigation of the entire stretch during the day and the night. The on-ground audit includes observation of safety issues across the 4Es of Road Safety.
In the third phase of the audit, the auditors enumerate each of the identified risk factors with the help of the video data analysis. This phase of the audit reveals the extent of improvement required for each factor and the number of times the same factor was encountered in the project stretch.
In the final phase, SLF recommends various measures to improve the overall safety of the highway.
This Crash Vulnerability Audit report is organised into multiple parts for easy understanding of the report. The findings and recommendations of the audit are presented to various stakeholders.