Punjab govt to set up Rs 100 cr fund for road safety

The Punjab cabinet today decided to set up a road safety fund of Rs 100 crore in accordance with the Supreme Court guidelines to enhance public safety and minimise fatalities in road accidents.
The fund would be set up by diverting 50 per cent of the compounding fee collected by the road enforcement agencies such as the police and the transport departments, an official spokesperson said upon conclusion of a cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
The proposed fund will be on the pattern of a similar fund created by Kerala in 2007.
Besides spreading awareness on road safety, the fund will be utilised to enable automatic detection of over-speeding and overloading of vehicles.

It will also be used for installation of GPS systems to monitor passenger and goods carriers, as well as automatic vehicles fitness certification machines.
The money would also go into making available various devices to the police force like body cameras, speed radars and breath analyzers, the spokesman said.
Besides, the fund would also be used for providing rescue and post-accident care services.