Leading
car manufacturer in the country, Ford India has released the findings of its
annual road safety survey. In its third wave, the Ford Cartesy survey brings
forth underlying triggers and barriers to ideal road behaviour and highlights
the need for an extensive and holistic Road Safety Education programme to lay
the foundations for safer and saner road use.
The
highlights of the Ford Cartesy Survey were:
?
Lack of Knowledge About Traffic Rules:
Most respondents with driving license feigned ignorance of basic traffic rules.
Only one in 10 respondents attributed the lack of knowledge about rules as a
potential risk to road safety. In a 31-question simulation of traffic rules,
less than a third (27%) scored over 40% and an abysmally low 6% of them got
more than 50% answers right.
? Mobile Phone A Real Distraction:
While 1 in 3 respondents feel the traffic situation in their city varies
between very bad to extremely bad, 97% think ‘Distracted Driving’ (due to use
of the mobile phone) and 81% think ‘Aggressive Driving’ are the top causes of
accidents in the country.
? Moment of Truth: On average, nearly
half of the commuters admitted to not displaying ideal behaviour that adheres
to Compliance, Caution, and Compassion. Distracted driving comes up as the most
deviant behaviour to Compliance, with 58% respondents admitting to talking on
the phone while driving, 63% finding it ok to seat their kids in the front row,
and 58% drive even when they are feeling sleepy
? Genuine Compassion Is Still A Long Way:
53% respondents confessed they don’t always make way for emergency vehicles
like an ambulance or fire truck. While, 57% do not mind throwing eatables,
empty wrappers and fruit peels on the road.
Looking
through the prism of the 3-Pillar framework of Compliance, Caution and
Compassion, Ford Cartesy Survey dug further into the deep ‘Attitudinal vs.
Behavioural’ analysis of drivers and commuters, categorising them in four
personality types:
|
The
Pretentious
Aware of road rules and ideal
behaviour. But quick to deviate from doing the right thing and are ready with
justifications that explain their behaviour.
|
The Assured
Appear easy-going, but prone to
demonstrating aggression, competitiveness and entitlement at the smallest
triggers. They claim to know their way around rules
|
|
The
Pretentious
Aware of road rules and ideal
behaviour. But quick to deviate from doing the right thing and are ready with
justifications that explain their behaviour.
|
The Idealist
Not just law-abiding and self - aware, but
do not break rules unless there is an emergency or a “compulsion beyond
control”.
|
The
Ford Cartesy Road Safety Survey highlights:
? Need more ‘Idealists’ on roads:
Attitudinal stereotypes influence city performance on Cartesy. Cities with a
greater proportion of ‘The Oblivious’ have the lowest Cartesy scores. Majority
of drivers, about 40%, surveyed can be characterized as ‘The Oblivious’,
followed by ‘The Assured’ at 27%, ‘The Pretentious’ at 25%, and ‘The Idealists’
make up for just 8%.
Of
the six major metros, Kolkata and Chennai took lead on all Cartesy scores with
the highest proportion of Idealists – 22% and 20% respectively. Delhi and
Bangalore showed a lot of room for improvement with the highest proportion of
Oblivious – 49% and 62% respectively.
Mumbai
and Hyderabad acquired third and fourth positions respectively with 21% each of
the Oblivious. Attitudinal stereotypes influence city performance on Cartesy.
Cities with a greater proportion of ‘The Oblivious’ have the lowest Cartesy
scores. “At Ford, we not only offer enhanced safety in our vehicles but believe
that small changes we make in our attitude and behaviour go a long way in
ensuring that our roads become safer ,” said Vinay Raina, executive director –
Marketing, Sales & Service at Ford India. “The Ford Cartesy survey in its
third year is not a critique of users, road infrastructure or enforcement authorities
but highlights how ‘mindfulness’ demonstrated by every single citizen can help makes
roads a safer and saner place.”
Ford
India’s Cartesy Campaign aims to encourage drivers to be courteous behind the
wheels while highlighting behavioural issues that impact safe driving in India.
In this edition of the survey, a total of 1,561 interviews were conducted
across 6 metro cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, and
Hyderabad. Each city was divided into five zones (East, West, North, South and
Central) and respondents were interviewed from each zone to ensure a fair
representation across a city. 78% of the respondents were males and remaining
females.