India is a signatory to the Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety, adopted at the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in 2020, which sets a new global target to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. The tragic death of 18 workers from Assam in a road accident in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday brought to the fore a grim reality that instead of reduction, India has witnessed an alarming surge in road accident fatalities. The increase of road fatalities from 1.5 lakh in 2017 to 1.77 lakh in 2024 implies that road safety continues to be inconsequential for road users and the government. Without transparency in road safety initiatives, the problem of road accidents will remain mere statistical accounts of death, injuries and insurance claims for the general public. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways insists that road safety is an integral and indispensable component of every National Highways project and that road safety commences with the inception of the Detailed Project Report, as a road safety audit of all National Highways projects has been made mandatory at all stages, i.e., design, construction, operation and maintenance, through third-party auditors/experts. Official data shows that funds allocated to be spent for comprehensive road safety aspects vary from 2.21% to 15% of the total cost of the road development projects depending upon the structures involved for the construction of National Highways. Recurrence of fatal road accidents, even after such inherent safety measures, is baffling and leaves room for speculation about the effectiveness of safety audits carried out to keep pace with the fast-changing dynamics of road traffic. Do the designs, construction quality and maintenance schedule cater to the substantial increase in traffic volume and types driven by new trade and commercial activities and increasing passenger movement pushed by developmental activities, particularly in regions like the Northeast? This is the pertinent question that needs to be answered. The recurrence of fatal accidents also speaks volumes about the growing disconnect between building awareness of safety norms to be followed by road users and enforcement. Enforcement of traffic norms on goods-carrying vehicles and passenger-carrying commercial vehicles is visible, but contractors illegally ferrying workers on carriage vans or dumper trucks in the most unsafe manner escape the enforcement. This is a critical gap in road safety left unaddressed either because of overlooking the accident risks in such ferrying of workers in vehicles designed to transport construction materials, not passengers, or due to an unholy nexus of enforcement officials of the Transport Department and such contractors. Pollution testing systems improving across the country is laudable, as it plays a crucial role in reducing environmental pollution caused by vehicle emissions. There is, however, no system in place to regularly check if driving licence holders are medically fit to drive the vehicles or have received proper training to drive the particular type of vehicle he or she is driving. Many accidents brought to light cold facts about persons driving large commercial vehicles such as buses, dumper trucks, and trucks without proper training and who are not aware of road signs and various other safety norms. This calls for overhauling the safety inspection and monitoring system so that such deficiencies, which are considered major contributory factors behind the surge in road fatalities, can be removed to make road travel safer for all road users, including pedestrians. Building the capacity of driving institutes in the Northeast region to impart adequate training on driving in plain as well as hill areas is essential to bridge the knowledge gap of many driving licence holders, particularly from the plains, for safe driving in the hills. Elevation and curvature of highways and roads in hills require a special driving skill set, but there is no mechanism in place to ascertain if a licence holder driving a vehicle from the plains to the hills has such special skills, which are essential for safe driving. The government spends a quantum amount of funds to raise awareness on road safety - safe driving, refraining from overspeeding, wearing helmets, safety belts, etc., which play a crucial role in reducing fatalities on the road. Incorporating a mechanism to ensure that the driving training course is comprehensive to build the capacity of the driver to drive safely on all terrains and in all weather conditions can make safety awareness initiatives and enforcement drives more effective and achieve the primary objective of accident prevention. The government making road safety audits mandatory for all national highways is a crucial step in the right direction, but making the safety audits public for transparency is also essential to boost confidence of road users about the safety status of the highway along which they are travelling. Alert drivers will take adequate precautions for safe travel, and transparency about the follow-up of safety audit findings can significantly raise the awareness level of all road users. A multi-pronged approach adopted to reduce road fatalities must prioritise preventing accidents from occurring.