Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has called upon citizens and NGOs to participate in the national campaign on road safety to create awareness about road safety issues in the country.

The minister was addressing the Road Safety Forum 2016, the national meet of NGOs on Road Safety, in New Delhi yesterday. Expressing concern over the 500,000 road accidents in the country every year in which about 140,000 people lose their lives, Gadkari said that containing road accidents and saving lives is not possible by the government alone – it needs the support of the citizens, the NGOs and the media in this regard. 

Gadkari pointed out several issues related to road safety like identification of accident-causing black spots, training and health check-up of drivers and educating the general public including children about road safety issues, where NGOs can play a vital role. He called upon the NGOs to give their suggestions on issues related to road safety, and assured them that the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways will take these up in a suitable manner. He especially urged the organisations to help the government in its efforts to identify accident black spots across the country, so that the concerned authorities can be asked to take remedial action to make the sites safe. He added that identification of black spots and taking corrective action to make these sites safe is a major priority for the Ministry. Around 726 black spots have identified across the country and Rs 11,000 crore has been earmarked to address this problem. 

Modernising the driver/rider licensing system
Throwing light on other efforts of the government to contain road accidents, Gadkari said that the present system of issuing driving licenses will soon be replaced by a transparent and efficient computerised licensing system. He added that driving schools are being opened across the country to train drivers. Fitness of drivers is another major concern that the government will be addressing. Gadkari said that over 3,000 centres will be set up in rural areas to train drivers and address fitness-related issues. He also said that roadside amenities will be equipped with helipads for quick transfer of accident victims to hospitals and all busy traffic corridors will have trauma centres along the highways. 

The minister announced that the road safety campaign will not be limited to only the Road Safety Week but will continue throughout the year. He said a train will be run across the country with exhibition on road safety to create awareness on the subject.  

He also emphasised that apart from road safety, the Ministry is also committed to reducing pollution in the road and transport sector. He said that the government has decided to implement Euro VI standards for automobiles from April 1, 2020. The use of electric vehicles and of bio-diesel, biogas, and ethanol as fuel is also being promoted. 

Gadkari also launched a Facebook page on road safety, termed ‘Road Safety: Time for Action’. The page will be a platform for discussion on various issues related to road safety and the wide array of work being done in this area.