Reducing India's Road Deaths a Main Theme at Lanxess Rubber Day

More fatal traffic accidents occur in India than in any other country. According to the World Health Organisation, the country’s road toll has risen consistently since the start of the last decade and now an average of 13 people die in road accidents every hour. A study by the Technical University of Munich puts the total death toll from traffic accidents in 2008 at 120,000 – a massive figure considering India has only 15 registered vehicles for every 1,000 inhabitants. By comparison, the UK boasts 458 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants yet figures from the Department for Transport show indicate just over 2,200 traffic fatalities in 2009: one third the vehicles of India along with a death toll more than fifty times lower.

The subcontinent is currently undergoing a transition from a two-wheel to a four-wheel society. But, according to the Technical University of Munich study, this is overtaxing many road users. Heavy trucks are the main culprits, and are responsible for a large number of the accidents. A key reason for the high accident rate involving trucks is poor levels of vehicle maintenance and the frequent use of badly worn tyres. This situation constituted a main theme of the first ‘Lanxess Rubber Day India’, which took place in New Delhi on December 3 and saw some 250 experts from politics, academia, the media and the automotive and rubber industries meet to discuss initiatives to improve traffic safety in India. The main questions tackled were how the rapidly growing country could combat a dramatic increase in the number of road accidents and what contribution tyre manufacturers and rubber suppliers could make.

“The combination of poor road surfaces and excessively worn tyres produces a dangerous concoction,” the Technical University of Munich’s Professor Wildemann told the assembled delegates. “If the condition of the tyres were to be regulated by quality standards, the overall accident rate would improve by five percent. In this way, as many as 24,000 accidents leading to personal injury could have been prevented in 2008.”

In view of this, Lanxess advocates the rapid introduction of appropriate quality standards for tyres in India and the issue was discussed during the company’s Rubber Day by number of notable representatives of the Indian and European tyre industry, including professionals from Tata Motors, Volkswagen and JK Tyres. Also attending were specialists from TÜV SÜD and the Indian Rubber Association. “By prescribing quality standards for tyres, the Indian legislator would make a significant contribution towards both raising the standard of traffic safety and reducing the impact on the environment at the same time,” said Lanxess CEO Axel C. Heitmann, summing up the debate.

The specialty chemicals group is also expanding its global research network and has signed a cooperation agreement with the Hari Shankar Singhania Elastomer and Tyre Research Institute (HASETRI), which is based in Kankroli, Rajasthan state. The agreement with the independent Institute, which was founded in 1991, aims to accompany the development of India’s rapidly growing tyre market.