Table 3

Illustrative quotes for use of key elements

Key element	Ref	Quotation
Linking to the wider context	1	“In 2010, the Supreme Court had passed an order saying that provision of helmet along with sale of two-wheelers is mandatory. This judgment has not been put into reality and it has not been enforced across India.”
	2	“Road accidents in India costs the country around 2.4 percent of its GDP.”
	3	“Road traffic injuries are a growing public health issue, affecting vulnerable groups of road users, including the poor and road traffic injuries place a huge strain on health care services in terms of financial resources, bed occupancy, and demand of health services.”
Explanations behind RTCs	4	“Poor lighting on the road led to 56% of accidents last year while 39% were caused by potholes.” “The minister said road accidents occur mainly due to drunken driving, faulty road engineering, driving while talking over phone and over-speeding.”
Explanations behind RTCs	5	“The road accident fatality rate is higher in Odisha as compared to all-India. In every 100 accidents, about 46 persons are killed in the State, whereas the national average is 29 (no explanation given for the larger burden).”
Avoiding the use of technical language	6	“Outdoor equipment like emergency call boxes, CCTVs, PTZ cameras, ANPR-based speed informant system and automatic counter-cum-classifier.”
Emphasising RTCs as a priority	7	“The deadly Indian roads claimed 17 lives every hour in 2017, when acts of terrorism claimed less than 300 lives (less than one a day) in the entire year.”
Emphasising RTCs as a priority	8	“As a ﬁrst step, injuries need to be recognised as a public health priority, and the Government of India must take the lead.”
Finding the human story	9	“Rohit had been taking coaching classes in Dehradun for bank exams, Rishabh was pursuing a polytechnic course from a private college, and Aditi was a student of Doon University.”
	10	"An accident leading to the death of a child causes great shock and agony to the parents and family of the deceased. The greatest agony for a parent is to lose their child during their lifetime.”
	11	“Unlike the injuries to other body parts, the burden of head injuries for survivors and their families is very high.”
Not terming RTCs as accidents	12	“But road injuries and deaths are not accidents; they are preventable, and they are unacceptable.”
Presentation of evidence-based solutions	13	“The traffic police should make sure that the public follow road rules such as lane driving, use indicators and adhere to speed limits, especially while driving under foggy conditions.”
	14	“Two-wheeler riders should ensure that they wear ISI certified helmets.”
	15	“Riding without helmets was high in 2016, with 4.24 lakh challans [fines] being issued, but it dipped to 1.45 lakh(145,000)in 2017. Consistent drives and relentless challaning [fines] have led to a dip in bikers riding without helmets.”
Stakeholder perspectives included	16	“Police data shows that there was also a 22% drop road fatalities in 2018 compared to the previous year. “In order to reduce accidents, particularly fatal accidents, every stakeholder has a role to play. We have tried our best in terms of education, awareness, prosecution and utilised all channels of communication to spread this message…,” said director general police Muktesh Chander.”
Discussion of vulnerable groups	17	“Half of those who die on the world’s roads are vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.”

ANPR, automatic number plate recoginition; CCTV, closed circuit television; RTCs, road traffic collisions.