Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari on April 23, 2018, said that India is exploring an agreement with South Korea for introduction of Highways Information System in the country. This would be developed on lines of the system run by the Express Highways Information Corporation of South Korea, with integrated monitoring of a highway at a centralised control room.
Inaugurating the 29th National Road Safety Week in New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan, the Minister spelt out the ministry’s priorities in ensuring safety of road users in the country. He informed that he has fixed a target of bringing down the number of road fatalities to half from the around 1.5 lakh accidental deaths reported when he took over. Gadkari said though progress has been achieved in this respect, he is still not satisfied and aspires to keep working in this direction.
The Ministry organises the Road Safety Week every year to create awareness among general public and improve upon the safety of road users. Addressing the participants, Gadkari requested that every student be made a road safety ambassador for his family and for the society, according to a PIB release.
The Minister gave away awards to fifteen school children who won the national level essay competition on road safety. The top three winners were given cash prizes of Rs 15,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 and a certificate each. Gadkari also administered the road safety pledge to all those present on the occasion.
Outlining the initiatives and steps taken to improve vehicle safety and overall road safety, the Minister said his ministry has adopted the 4E principles of Education, Enforcement, Engineering and Emergency care to address the problem of road safety. For ensuring vehicular safety, the standards of buses have been upgraded, air bags and speed alert device have been made mandatory for all cars, and every two-wheeler will have ABS to avoid skidding. He said the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017, passed by Lok Sabha is awaiting clearance by Rajya Sabha. This bill comprehensively promotes safety on the road. It would also promote the development of an efficient, seamless and integrated multi-mode public transport system.
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has launched a scheme for setting up of Driving Training Centre to provide quality training to commercial vehicle drivers, improve road and environment safety and strengthen overall mobility on roads. Altogether 789 road accident black spots have been identified on NHs of which 139 black spots have been rectified while work on 233 black spots have been awarded and in progress. Detailed Road Safety Audits in a length of 610 km have been sanctioned on National Highways in last two years. Installation of crash barriers at accident prone locations on National Highways in Hilly Terrain has been sanctioned in a length of 183 Km at a cost of Rs 108.25 crore.