Transport ministry launches road safety training programme for engineers

Year 2017 accounted for about 140,000 deaths caused by non-adherence or absence of road safety norms

The Union ministry of road transport and highways has launched a national programme to train civil engineers and road transport professionals in road safety. 

The second batch of engineers completed their training on Friday, raising the number of engineers trained so far to 200.  The training is being conducted by the Asian Institute of Transport Development (AITD), with which the ministry has tied up to provide safety training to about 4,000 professionals. The training programme will cover all states and union territories in the country, according to AITD.

Last year accounted for about 140,000 deaths caused by non-adherence or absence of road safety norms.

In another initiative, the ministry has planned to create a dedicated pool of 1,500 road safety auditors. These professionals will be given training and will have to pass a written examination before qualifying as accredited safety auditors. 

AITD has already identified 20 academic and professional bodies including IITs across the country to collaborate with it to impart training, with the aim of developing a number of centres of repute in the country. The long-term objective is to build AITD as a national centre for road safety with affiliates across the country.