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Road safety council gets CM's nod

JAIPUR: With an aim to regulate the traffic more efficiently, the state government has approved the constitution of a state road safety council' on lines of the National Council for Road Safety. In wake of the increasing number of mishaps and resulting human casualties, chief minister Ashok Gehlot has okayed formation of the council for better traffic management and road safety.

The transport department officials continue to attribute the rise in road accidents to increase in incidents of overloading by goods carriers and overcrowding by passenger vehicles, especially trucks and jeeps respectively.

Lack of coordination between various development and agencies concerned was also felt as a major reason behind it. Ever-rising vehicle population, absence of proper infrastructure to cope with it and lack of public awareness are also the major reasons behind rising in accidents.

The proposed council will work as a advisory and monitoring body for the measures initiated by various departments to reduce accident cases. It will also help develop mutual coordination between the agencies involved for more efficient control over traffic regulation.

Road accidents have assumed almost pandemic proportions with a number of incidents reported daily from all over the state. According to estimates, each day over a hundred road accidents occur across the state and victims include cross sections of the society, including VIPs.

State minister for public works Pramod Jain met with a serious accident near Bagu in Chittorgarh recently. While the minister had a narrow escape, his friend accompanying him died on the spot. Only a week ago, death of three people in a road accident shook the Pink City residents.

The percentage increase in casualties in road accidents remained 4-14 per cent each year even as accident figures registered a rise of 1-4 per cent. Over 8,000 precious lives were lost in 2008 in these mishaps.

The Congress government had claimed to control the situation when it attained power in December last year. However, the accident figures continued to rise unabated and in just five months this year, as many as 8,404 accidents were recorded as compared to 7,983 in the corresponding period last year. In last three years, the human casualties in road mishaps have witnessed a rise of 15 per cent.

The council will be constituted under the Motor Vehicle Act 1988 under the chairmanship of the state transport minister and will have 18 members including officials of the health department, besides the representatives of various departments concerned, public transporters, vehicle manufacturers and non-governmental organizations.

The council will conduct research and propose improvement in road designs and connectivity of roads to highways. It will also monitor the progress made on the steps initiated by various agencies to curb accident menace. Its role will also be crucial in designing of support facilities such as trauma centres and setting up minimum facilities that each trauma hospital must have to provide care to an accident victim.

Recommendations will also be made by the committee in development of transportation infrastructure for disabled, children and old people so as to ensure safety on the road. It shall also play an effective role in assimilation of data related to traffic and road accidents and help in formation and monitoring of traffic policies.

What Road Safety Council Will Do

1. To advise state government on issues related to traffic and road safety
   
2. To develop coordination between various agencies concerned
   
3. To demarcate accident-prone sites and suggest action to reduce accident risk
   
4. To maintain check on implementation of road safety measures
   
5. To look after assimilation and processing of data related to traffic situation and road accidents
   
6. To formulate guidelines for the trauma centres for effective treatment of road accident victims
   
7. To spread public awareness on road safety
   

9th June, 2009 (TOI)