Road‑traffic fatalities in India are not merely statistics; they signal a constitutional breakdown. Two official agencies reported slightly different death tolls for 2024 – 1.75 million by the National Crime Records Bureau, 1.81 million in its “Crime in India” report, and 1.77 million by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways – underscoring policy inconsistency rather than data inaccuracy.

Supreme Court’s Landmark Intervention

In the 2014 case S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India, the Supreme Court identified the “four E’s” of road safety – Engineering, Enforcement, Education and Emergency Care. It found that only 35‑40 % of the estimated budget reached highway maintenance, ambulances were scarce, trauma centres missing, and enforcement laws existed only on paper. The Court stressed that accidents are not “random misfortunes”; each is a preventable human failure, tying road safety directly to Article 21.

Constitutional Fragmentation and Accountability Gap

India’s Constitution spreads responsibility for roads, policing, public health and vehicle regulation across the Union List, State List and Concurrent List. National highways fall under the Centre, state roads and police under states, motor‑vehicle rules in the Concurrent List, and health is a state subject. No single entity therefore owns prevention, resulting in a parade of committees and advisory boards that never translate into action.

Learning from the GST Model

When tax administration became unworkable due to the same three‑list split, Parliament enacted the 101st Constitutional Amendment and created the GST Council, forging a durable Centre‑State mechanism. A similar Road Safety Coordination Council could set unified standards for road design, vehicle fitness, emergency response and fatality reporting, while an amendment to the Seventh Schedule would pull traffic regulation firmly within Parliament’s legislative reach.

The Way Forward: Statutory Mandates and District Committees

Beyond constitutional amendment, Parliament must legislate the creation of District Road Safety Committees with clearly defined powers and enforceable penalties for non‑compliant states. Judicial interventions can only provide temporary relief; lasting change requires Parliament to impose a robust, accountable framework.