Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been making concerted efforts towards improvement of road safety through engineering measures on National Highways. 789 black spots have been identified and notified with unique ID numbers assigned to each of the spots. Guidelines have been prepared and notified for investigation and rectification of the road accident black spots on National highways. So far 395 black spots have been rectified. Out of these black spots, 510 black spots are under the jurisdiction of NHAI, 150 black spots are under the jurisdiction of State PWD (NH) and remaining 129 black spots are under State Government. Out of 510 black spots under NHAI, 276 have been rectified. Out of 150 black spots under the jurisdiction of PWD (NH), 119 have already been rectified. Out of these 789, a total number of 12 Black Spots are in Odisha. Out of 12 Black Spots 4 have been rectified.
There are many reasons for accidents on the National Highways, i.e., Weather condition, Animal Crossing, Defect in Mechanical condition of Motor Vehicle, Physical fatigue of Drivers, Driving under influence of drug/alcohol, Over speeding Dangerous driving, Over-taking and Careless/Rash driving etc.
As per information received from police department of all States/UTs, the total number of road accidents and persons killed on National Highways in the country for the calendar years i.e 2016 to 2018 is given in the table below:-
| Years | Total Number of persons killed on National Highways/Expressway in the country
|
| 2016 | 52,075 |
| 2017 | 53,181 |
| 2018 | 54,046 |
The Ministry has taken a number of steps for reduction in road accidents as per details mentioned under: –
- Government has launched a mobile app for highway users i.e. “Sukhad Yatra 1033” which enables highways users to report potholes and other safety hazards on National Highways including accidents.
- Rectification of identified Black spots.
- Road Safety Audits are being carried out at all stages of development of the highway i.e. design / construction / operation stages.
- Facilities such as Foot Over bridges & under passes are being provided wherever required for safe crossing of pedestrians and other road users.
- (v) Road Safety Week is observed every calendar year for spreading awareness about safer behavior of road users on National Highways.
(vi) The Government has approved a National Road Safety Policy. This Policy outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws.
- The Ministry has constituted Group of Ministers of State Transport Ministers to examine the best practices of Transport and suggest issues to improve road safety. Based on the recommendation of Group of Ministers, the Ministry introduced and Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament which includes entire gamut of road safety.
- The Ministry has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on 4 ‘E’s viz. Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care.
- Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at planning stage.
- The threshold for four laning of national highway has been reduced from 15,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) to 10,000 PCUs. About 52,000 Km of stretches of State Highways has been identified for conversion to national highways.
- Setting up of model driving training institutes in States and refresher training to drivers of Heavy Motor Vehicle in the unorganized sector.
- Advocacy/Publicity campaign on road safety through the electronic and print media.
- Tightening of safety standards for vehicles like Seat Belts, anti-lock braking system etc.
- High priority has been accorded to identification and rectification of black spots (accident prone spots) on national highways.
- Ministry has delegated powers to Regional Officers of MORTH for technical approval to the detailed estimates for rectification of identified Road Accident black spots for expediting the rectification process to ensure safety of road users.
- Ministry had issued guidelines vide O.M. dated 14.1.2016 for taking up of Road Safety Audits on National Highways either as part of EPC/BOT projects or as stand-alone Road Safety Audits.
- Guidelines for pedestrian facilities on National Highways for persons with disabilities have also been issued to all States / UTs.
- A Certification Course for Road Safety Auditors has been commenced in Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) and 42 Auditors are certified.
- Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has constituted a District Road Safety Committee in each district of the country to promote awareness amongst road users under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from the district.
- Free Eye Check-up Camp and distribution of eye glasses is conducted for truck/bus drivers operating on NH.
- Capacity building through training of NHAI field staff/ Concessionaires/Contractors/Consultants engaged in NHAI project works throughout India.
- Facilities such as Foot Over bridges & underpasses are being provided wherever required, for safe crossing of pedestrians and other road users.
- Removal of Liquor Shops as per directions of Hon’ble Supreme Court vide circular of F. No. RW/NH-33044/309/2016/S&R dated 06-04-2017 and 01-06-2017.
Detailed guidelines for taking up road safety audits on National Highways have been prepared and notified. Road Safety Audits have been made part and parcel of all National Highways development projects on EPC/BOT modes. Ministry has issued circular which makes it mandatory to carry out road safety audit for all new road projects having length of 5 km or more at the stage of Detail Project Report (DPR)/Engineering Design. Ministry has taken up installation of crash barriers in hilly terrain on National Highways in predominantly hilly states at accident prone locations. Ministry advocates use of Traffic calming measure at accident prone areas. Indian Road Congress has published IRC 99: Guidelines for traffic calming measures. Ministry has also issued consolidated guidelines/directions regarding rectification of Accident Black Spots vide circular no. RW/NH-29011/01/2019-S&R (P&B) dated 26.08.2019.
The Ministry has decided to take up a project i.e. “Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD)” with funding from World Bank. The main objective of this project is on-site collection of accident data through app-based software and analyse data for identification of black spots and other accident prone areas so as to help in preparation of comprehensive policy and take suitable steps to reduce road accidents on National Highways in the country.
This information was given by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
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