Road-safety audit for all big highway projects

NEW DELHI: From now onwards, updated road safety audits will be carried out on all big road projects including national highways (NHs) to make them safer.

As per the recently approved road safety manual by the Indian Road Congress (IRC), experts will carry the safety audit not just during the design and implementation phases of the projects but also in the post operation period to identify deficiencies and rectify them.

Sources in this premier body of technical highway engineers said the IRC council had approved the road safety audit guideline and this would be published in the next two months. "Once that is in place, all major road projects will follow guidelines mentioned in the manual. Even the state public works department (PWD) constructing major roads could use the guidelines to make the stretches safe," said a senior IRC official.

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Booklet on road safety released

Gurgaon, Dec 21 (PTI) A booklet titled ?A Guide to Road Safety? was released by Gurgaon Police Commissioner S S Deswal today. Published by Tarang, an organisation for road safety and traffic management, this booklet is distributed among students so that they understand traffic rules and it is ensured that children develop habit of following safety measures on roads. Releasing the booklet, Deswal said that Gurgaon police is organising All India Roads Safety Week from January 1 to 7, 2010 to spread awareness regarding safety measures. He appealed every citizen to follow and respect traffic rules, as obeying traffic rules not only ensures smooth flow of traffic, but also saves life of near and dear ones. "Every driver on our roads contributes to humanity by safe driving," Deswal said.

Source-http://www.ptinews.com/news/434209_Booklet-on-road-safety-released

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HC forms panel to check menace of fake driving licence(Times of India,December 11,2009)

New Delhi: With one lakh people dying in road accidents every year in the country, the Delhi High Court has suggested a tough law to check fake driving licence holders and those who issue such licences.
The court has also set up a committee comprising five lawyers and the joint commissioner of police and directed the police to convene a meeting of committee members with insurance companies to have a detailed discussion to sort out the problem on December 14.
While hearing a motor accident case in which the driver had a fake driving licence, Justice J R Midha, in an order, has sent 9 suggestions, submitted by senior counsel Arun Mohan, to the export committee of the ministry of road and transport for consideration.
Advocate Mohan suggested a special cell with an e-mail address to be created to entertain the complaints relating to fake licence holders. Whenever the police registers an FIR against a person for driving with fake licence, particulars of the FIR be entered by the cell in the entry against the information received, the counsel suggested.
He said the cell should prepare a tabulated chart for the information received and look for any pattern within it and take action according to law. The senior lawyer said the details about the offender should be displayed on the website so that the transport authorities in other states can access the information. The cops should maintain a record of e-mails and initiate appropriate action against the offenders and interrogate the owner of the vehicle for allowing a fake licence holder to drive.
He also suggested that MACT should ensure the presence of the driver, the owner and the victim and direct the insurance company to give compensation as immediate help to the victim’s family. The court issued notice to the insurance company and the ministry of road and transport and fixed December 16 as the next date of hearing.

ACTION PLAN

To tackle the menace of fake licences, HC has formed a panel to consider these:
Special police cell for fake driving licences
Control cell to maintain digital records on fake licence
Cell to look for “patterns” to find offenders
Police to weigh option of making information available to transport authority
Frame strict law to provide severe punishment for offenders
Removal of unsafe vehicles and obstructions from the road

Source-http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOINEW/navigator.asp?Daily=CAP&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&AW=1260508924156

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Overspeeding accounts for over 50% of road accidents(Times of India,December10,2009)

New Delhi: Exceeding the lawful speed limit is the single biggest reason for road accidents . According to a submission by the road, transport and highways ministry (MoRTH) in Lok Sabha, overspeeding is responsible for over 51% of road accidents whereas driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is the reason for 5% of road mishaps.
In a written reply, minister of state Mahadev Khandela said in Rajya Sabha that there was an increase in the percentage of road mishaps due to overspeeding. While in 2004, 1,98,72 accidents out of 4,29,910 were due to overspeeding , it shot up to 2,47,371 in 2007 out of the total road accidents of 4,79,216.
Significantly, the ministers reply also highlights the increasing share of pedestrians , cyclists and two-wheeler drivers in the fatalities during 2004-07 . While the share of these three groups as a percentage of total persons killed in road accidents was 29.5%, it touched 40.2% in 2007. This data excludes road accidents in Delhi.
However, traffic experts feel that singling out any one factor for road mishaps is premature since there is no proper investigation of these accidents . In yet another written reply, Khandela informed the Lok Sabha that Tamil Nadu registered the highest number of accidents on national highways with 19,910 in 2007. Maharashtra came second (13,563), followed by Karnataka (13,310) and Andhra Pradesh (13,040).
Interestingly, the ministrys submission claimed that the number of road mishaps on NHs had slipped in 2007.


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Delhi gets tough on drink drivers

A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has ruled that those driving under the influence of alcohol could lose their driving licence.

The order will empower the police to confiscate the licence of a driver who is found to have consumed alcohol beyond the permissible limit.

Critics say a lot will depend on how strictly the law is implemented.

Activists say tens of thousands of Indians die in road accidents every year because of drink driving.

Campaigners have welcomed the court order.

They say 70% of the 130,000 annual road fatalities are caused by drunk drivers.

Delhi is the second Indian city to get tough with drink drivers - similar strict measures in Mumbai (Bombay) have brought down the number of fatal accidents.

Tough measures

According to the new guidelines, Delhi police will have the authority to take away the licence of a driver driving under the influence of alcohol.

The offender would then have to appear before the transport department which would decide whether his licence should be suspended or cancelled.

The new guidelines are part of a campaign to make Delhi safer ahead of next year's Commonwealth Games.

Recently, the Delhi government proposed several tough measures to deal with drink-driving, including a provision for a fine of up to 50,000 rupees ($1,000) for those caught drinking alcohol in public - by the roadside, inside cars or outside roadside eating places.

The proposals also include imprisonment without bail for offenders.

Campaigners, however, say tough laws alone will not work - what is needed is strict enforcement of the laws.

In the past few months, the city police have been doing random and frequent spot checks near pubs and restaurants to catch drink drivers.

But correspondents say many offenders still manage to get away either by paying bribes or because they are influential.

Source-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8380204.stm

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Road mishap victims to get cashless cover

New Delhi: In a desperate bid to bring down the number of deaths on the country's roads, the government is looking to provide cashless cover to all road accident victims. Recognising that the first hour after an accident is the "golden hour" during which many lives can be saved if appropriate medical assistance is provided, it intends to bear all expenses incurred by an accident victim in the first 48 hours.

The government might, in turn, pay the hospitals via an escrow account. Moreover, the government intends to earmark 1% of its earnings from the cess on diesel and petrol for road safety.

A report on road safety released by World Health Organisation in August pointed out that India accounts for most road accident fatalities. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), road accidents account for 33% of all accidental deaths. NCRB records show 1,14,590 people died in road accidents in 2007.

This data has goaded the government to table a bill for formation of a National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board in the winter session of parliament, which began on Thursday.

The board, which will recommend safety standards, will comprise experts from the field of road engineering, automobile engineering, traffic laws and medical care and oversee road safety activities in the country.

"In order to maintain the board's independence, it is proposed to give it financial autonomy by way of creating a National Road Safety Fund by earmarking 1% of the total proceeds of cess on petrol and diesel," an official from the ministry of shipping, road transport and highways said.

The board will work in consultation with the Indian Road Congress for designing, constructing, and operating national highways. It will also lay down guidelines for multi-disciplinary crash investigations and for collecting, reporting and analysing data of accidents by the different agencies involved.

The board will maintain a comprehensive database on road safety related matters.

Source-http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_road-mishap-victims-to-get-cashless-cover_1313977

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Road accidents claim more lives than terrorism

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who has been expressing concern over the increasing number of casualties in road accidents time and again, on Monday observed that road accidents claim more lives than terrorism.

Inaugurating a two-day national seminar on ‘Road Safety and Urban Traffic Management’, the Chief Minister said he was pained to learn that 13 people die in road accidents every hour and that the country had reported the highest rate of fatalities in the world.

Karunanidhi said nearly 80 per cent of the victims on the road were pedestrians. In big cities, the people who sleep on the pavements form a vulnerable group.

Pointing out that road safety and traffic management were not the sole responsibility of the police department and the government authorities, Karunanidhi said everybody has to contribute to make the roads safer. “Road safety and traffic management must become part of the curriculum right from the school level. Children should be sensitised towards these aspects by developing special package of games and leisure time activities,” he added.

He said the policemen on the road were not just the symbol of the State authority, they must also realise their role as problem solvers responsible for safety and well-being of all the road users.

In Chennai, the length of the road remained static whereas the vehicle population had tripled in the past 15 years. Due to industrial development, Chennai was witnessing a rapid increase in the movement of commercial container lorries. A comprehensive review of traffic management in the urban sector was essential, he said. The CM received a stamp released by Chief Post Master General Chakraborthy to coincide with the 150th year of TN Police.

Source-http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Road+accidents+claim+more+lives+than+terrorism&artid=XFdskUlDdF0=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=rSY|6QYp3kQ=&SEO=

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