The government has come up with a detailed plan to reduce India’s morbid record of losing a life on roads every four minutes and having the most road fatalities in the world.
The ministry of road transport and highways has initiated a move to fix the flaws in 25 most accident prone ‘black spots’ on highways across India. A K Upadhyay, secretary in the ministry, said the black spots were spots where accidents occured again and again.
‘They are spread across 13 major states and account for 90 percent of road accidents in the country,’ he said.
‘Among the 13 states that experience the maximum road fatalities are Uttar Pradesh, TN, West Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and MP,’ he added.
The ministry has asked the National Highway Authority and states to fix structural flaws in roads in the five worst black spots by March 2013 and complete work by Dec. ‘The govt has urged states to spend time and money on three other fronts: education of road users, new technologies for accident recording, stricter enforcement of traffic laws to crack down on violations, and emergency trauma care for road accident victims,’ he said.
‘India loses more than Rs.100,000 crore a year due to road accidents,’ the secretary said. ‘In 2010, 1.34 lakh people died in road accidents.
‘Till a few years ago, India was behind China in road fatalities. But now, with nearly 12 crore vehicles on the road, India is far ahead of China on this grim parameter,’ he added.
The ministry of road transport and highways has initiated a move to fix the flaws in 25 most accident prone ‘black spots’ on highways across India. A K Upadhyay, secretary in the ministry, said the black spots were spots where accidents occured again and again.
‘They are spread across 13 major states and account for 90 percent of road accidents in the country,’ he said.
‘Among the 13 states that experience the maximum road fatalities are Uttar Pradesh, TN, West Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and MP,’ he added.
The ministry has asked the National Highway Authority and states to fix structural flaws in roads in the five worst black spots by March 2013 and complete work by Dec. ‘The govt has urged states to spend time and money on three other fronts: education of road users, new technologies for accident recording, stricter enforcement of traffic laws to crack down on violations, and emergency trauma care for road accident victims,’ he said.
‘India loses more than Rs.100,000 crore a year due to road accidents,’ the secretary said. ‘In 2010, 1.34 lakh people died in road accidents.
‘Till a few years ago, India was behind China in road fatalities. But now, with nearly 12 crore vehicles on the road, India is far ahead of China on this grim parameter,’ he added.