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Over 83% of UP’s poor households report income loss after road accident
The World Bank report released by union minister for transport and highways Nitin Gadkari highlights the disproportionate impact of a road crash on poor households that pushes them into a vicious cycle of poverty and debt
Over 83% of low-income households in Uttar Pradesh reported a fall in their income after a family member met with a road accident, and their financial loss amounted to more than seven months’ household income, according to a latest World Bank report.
Comparatively, it was equivalent to less than one month’s household income for high-income households, the report stated.
The report has allocated the bottom 40% of the population by per capita income as low-income households and the top 10% of the population in terms of per capita income as high-income households.
Titled “Traffic Crash Injuries and Disabilities: The Burden on Indian Society”, the report, released by union minister for transport and highways Nitin Gadkari in Delhi on Saturday, highlights the disproportionate impact of a road crash on poor households that pushes them into a vicious cycle of poverty and debt.
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The study was conducted in collaboration with SaveLIFE Foundation—a national non-governmental organisation this is focused on road safety. It is based on the survey data collected from four Indian states—UP, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
“The decline in household income was more acutely felt in Uttar Pradesh. Over 83% of LIHs [low-income households] and 64% of HIHs [high-income households] reported a decline in household income after a road crash, which is higher than the overall figure of 75% and 54% for LIHs and HIHs, respectively. This goes to show the need for greater institutional support in the state, which as we understand, UP is working to develop as part of the new road safety policy,” Piyush Tewari, CEO and founder of SaveLIFE Foundation, said.
The report also said that a larger number of cases of property sale, money borrowing and relocation were observed among LIHs in comparison to HIHs.
In UP, 49.1% of LIH members faced difficulty in sleeping after an accident, while 3.2% of HIH members faced the same problem. A total 62.6% of LIHs and 19.4% of HIHs reported that the victim, or a household member, suffered from depression after a crash.
Significantly, 50.6% of the LIHs and 50.5% of HIHs claimed that no FIR was filed for road accidents involving a family member.
Tewari also said, “The findings of the report identify the areas that require immediate improvements such as efforts towards post-crash emergency care and protocols, insurance and compensation systems.”
In UP, a total of 514 respondents (victims and household members) participated in the survey. Among them, 101 respondents (19.6%) belonged to high-income households, and 413 (80.4%) to low-income households.
A larger proportion of LIHs reported out-of-pocket expenses (OOPE) than HIHs. The OOPE for LIHs was about 5.8% higher than for HIHs. Total OOPE in Uttar Pradesh was ₹79,433 for LIHs, and ₹75,110 for HIHs.
As per the report, OOPE is the payment made directly by individuals at a point of service wherein the entire cost of health, goods or services is not covered under any financial protection scheme.
In as many as 89.8% of LIHs, the victims surveyed admitted to paying OOPE, while 72.3% of HIHs victims admitted to paying OOPE.
About 48.2% of LIHs had to arrange for a loan, as opposed to 10.9% of HIHs. Further, a larger proportion of LIHs had to resort to selling assets, and taking on extra work. A larger proportion of HIHs (89.1%) spent from family savings to cope with the losses than LIHs (71.9%).
As low as 7.5% of LIH victims, and 30.7% HIH victims/family members, availed motor vehicle insurance compensation. Among those that availed compensation, just 41.9% of LIH victims and 38.7% of HIH victims received the eligible compensation.
In UP, LIHs, on an average, took 73 more days than HIHs to return to their previous occupation, with LIHs taking an average of 129 days to return to their occupation and HIHs taking 56 days. Further, on an average it took LIHs 105 days to find a new occupation.
The report, according to Tewari, also presents an opportunity for development agencies, policymakers and state governments to prioritise a complete policy overhaul of the existing system and implement sustainable solution-oriented, inclusive measures to improve their performance on road safety.
