Page 3 - Road Safety

Will achieve road safety targets set in Stockholm Declaration: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday reiterated India's commitment to achieving global road safety targets set in the Stockholm Declaration, according to an official statement. Gadkari, while addressing the ministerial session focusing on road safety at the 27th World Road Congress in Prague, Czech Republic, emphasized on adopting a holistic approach to minimise road crashes and fatalities by stakeholders at all levels. The road transport and highways minister reiterated the country's special focus on spreading awareness to effect behavioral change and ensuring flawless enforcement of rules. According to the statement, the minister further apprised the gathering of the strides India has been taking in the field of automobile safety with flagship programmes such as BHARAT NCAP and reiterated our commitment to achieving the global road safety targets set in the Stockholm Declaration. The Stockholm Declaration aims at halving the number of fatalities and serious injuries on roads by

Be like Neeraj Chopra, win hearts not challans: Delhi police on road safety

The Delhi Police has come up with a creative social media post to spread awareness about road safety and following traffic rules by referring to Neeraj Chopra's victory in the men's javelin at the World Athletics Championships. "Be like Neeraj Chopra. Win hearts, not challans," the police wrote in a post on X. It further stated, "To drivers and riders, you are not Neeraj's javelin, and crossing the white lines will not get you points or medals." Reacting to the post, one of the users suggested that lane driving must be enforced on priority. Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra scripted history yet again as he became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the World Athletics Championships with a big throw of 88.17m in the men's javelin final in Budapest, Hungary on August 27. Chopra has now become only the second Indian -- after shooter Abhinav Bindra -- to simultaneously hold the Olympics and World Championships titles. Bindra had won the World Championships title when he was 23, and t

Himachal Police gets Rs 7 cr to strengthen road safety to reduce accidents

The Himachal Pradesh government has released Rs 7.34 crore for the police to procure equipment and implement measures to reduce road accidents and deaths. Released by the transport department, the road safety fund will be utilised to procure traffic equipment and go a long way in meeting the target set by the United Nations to reduce accident deaths to 50 per cent by 2030, Director-General of Police Sanjay Kundu said on Saturday. The police will procure traffic lights for installation in Bijiri and Hamirpur and rescue equipment for the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane highway, he said. On an average, 1,180 people die each year in 3,090 accidents while 5,480 people suffer injuries, according to police records. Procurement of modern equipment for traffic regulation by the police is an ongoing process. Forty-nine Intelligent Traffic Management System have been installed at various places on national and state highways and 28,223 challans issued for traffic rules violation this year. Another

SC rejects plea on road safety issue, says can't be done in one petition

The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a plea on the issue of road safety in the country, saying the reliefs sought are "so encompassing" that it cannot be done in one petition judicially. A bench of justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said most of the issues raised in the plea are related to Tamil Nadu, and the petitioner can approach the state high court for appropriate relief. The petitioner, a resident of the southern state, told the bench that his plea was about road safety and that more than five lakh accidents happen every year in the country. When the petitioner said one cannot get remedies in one place in road accident cases, the bench observed there has been coordinated streamlining of accident cases. About the reliefs sought in the plea, which included directions to the state to remove all illegal structures, the bench said, "You may have a good motive but they are so encompassing that this cannot be done in one petition judicially." While disposing of the plea,

Road safety issue urgent, not enough being done for pandemic on roads: UN

Road Safety issue is as urgent as COVID-19 considering how crashes destroy lives and economies on a daily basis, UN's Special Envoy for Global Road Safety Jean Todt has said, emphasising that not enough is being done for the "pandemic on our roads." Speaking at the "Vision Zero Conference for Road Safety for All" that commenced here on Monday, Todt said that the issue of road safety doesn't garner the same kind of financial and social support yet as other subjects. "The COVID-19 experience provided an example of how humanity can bond together to discover and apply solutions when the emergency appears urgent enough to everyone. That example alone should show us that we are not doing enough for the pandemic on our roads --- we need to better persuade people that it is just as urgent as COVID-19 in how it destroys lives and economies," he said. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), road crashes kill more than 1.3 million people each year - more than two every minute - with

Raj govt approves road safety task force, targets 50% accident reduction

A dedicated task force for road safety will be set up at the district level to curb road accidents, the Rajasthan government said, adding that it aims to reduce accidents and deaths linked to it by 50 per cent by 2030. According to a statement issued here on Tuesday, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has given approval for the formation of 'Road Safety Task Force' at the district level involving officers of various departments. The Department of Transport and Road Safety will be the administrative arm of this task force, the statement said. A meeting of the task force will be held at least once every three months. The District Road Safety Task Force will be responsible for effective implementation of the annual action plan, and the decisions of the committee to bring about 50 per cent reduction in road accidents and deaths linked to it by 2030, it said. The tenure of the District Road Safety Task Force will be three years, the statement added.

Punjab govt to set up Road Safety Force to avert accident: CM Mann

Expressing concern over the fatalities due to road accidents in the state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said a Road Safety Force will be formed in the Punjab Police to avert accident. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating a Regional Driving Training centre here, the chief minister said that on a daily basis around 14 people die in road accidents in Punjab. Mann said the force will be entrusted with the task of checking rash driving, and streamlining vehicular movement on roads and others to prevent road accidents. This move will reduce the burden on cops deployed in police stations, Mann said in an official statement. He further informed that the Regional Driving Training Centre is equipped with hi-tech technology and it will give major relief to people who want to get heavy vehicle licences, thereby saving their time, money and energy. Mann said the state government is making all-out efforts to remove the blind spots on the roads to avert any casualties. The

Tata Elxsi to use blockchain to monitor driver behaviour; partners Cultos

Tata Elxsi's collaboration with Cultos Global is aimed at creating an innovative Driver Reward Program

Not taking due care while overtaking also amounts to rash: Delhi HC

Rash and negligent driving does not necessarily mean excessive speed and will include not taking due care while driving, particularly overtaking either a stationary or moving vehicle, the Delhi High Court has said. The court's observation came on a petition by the family of a motorcycle rider who died after colliding with a DTC bus parked in the middle of the road without any signal or light indicator on the night of July 22, 2012. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal had granted more than over Rs 17 lakh to the family but ordered a deduction of 20 per cent towards contributory negligence by the deceased. The claimants were also awarded interest of 7.5 per cent per annum from the date of filing the plea till payment is made by the insurance company. The family sought enhancement of the compensation amount before the high court. Justice Gaurang Kanth, in a recent order, observed that from the account of the eyewitness, there was no doubt that the accident occurred due to the ...

Most people in India not serious about following road safety rules: Gadkari

Most people in India are not serious about following road safety rules, and unless their mindset and attitude change, it would be difficult to reduce number of road accidents in the country, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday. The road, transport and highway minister pointed out that a whopping 5 lakh road accidents take place in the country, in which 1.5 lakh people die every year. "Jyadatar log road safety ko lekar serious nahi hai. Jab tak logo ka dimag aur mindset nahi badlega, tab tak road accidents kam nahi ho payega (Most people in India are not serious about following road safety rules, and unless their mindset and attitude change, it would be difficult to reduce number of road accidents in the country)," he said. Gadkari also emphasised on the need of following land discipline by drivers. He announced that his ministry will soon start conducting digital examination for those applying for driver's licence and later a practical driving test will be conducted. The .

Road safety project: Govt piloting Cibil-like rating for licenced drivers

Ratings to be offered to insurers and OEMs to enable them to customise premiums based on driving behaviour, incentives on new vehicle purchases

Govt begins consultations with sector experts on road safety standards

Safety index for highways on the cards; key focus is on four Es--engineering, education, enforcement and emergency care

Indian NGO shares initiatives on road safety, environment at ECOSOC forum

An India-based NGO shared initiatives undertaken by it like reflective stickers for bicycles, a Helmet Bank' and a Children Challan Book' for road safety and environment conservation at an annual forum of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) here. The ECOSOC meeting highlighted the need for revitalised partnerships" to recover stronger from the pandemic and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Patiala Foundation CEO Ravee Singh Ahluwalia participated in the Economic and Social Council Annual Partnership Forum 2023 this week where NGOs accredited with the UN body, agencies and stakeholders gathered at the UN headquarters here and highlighted the need for concerted efforts to combat challenges arising from the pandemic, Ukraine conflict and other crises. Punjab-based Patiala Foundation was accorded ECOSOC Special Consultative Status in 2018 and works in the field of protection and regeneration of livelihood, heritage conservation, road safety and environment ...

Maha govt bans car-pooling in non-transport vehicles over security concerns

The Maharashtra government has banned the use of non-transport vehicles for aggregation and ride-pooling (car-pooling), citing the safety and security of passengers. As per a government resolution (GR) issued on January 19, non-transport vehicles including two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers are banned (for the ride pooling and aggregation) "in order to ensure road safety of the general public and passengers at large". Currently, a few aggregators provide app-based bike, auto and car taxi services in major cities of Maharashtra. Some of them provide mobile application-based aggregator service using vehicles, especially two-wheelers, registered under the non-transport category. Non-transport vehicles are ones with white number plates and are not allowed to be used for commercial purposes. On January 13, the Bombay High Court pulled up bike-taxi aggregator Rapido for operating without procuring a licence from the Maharashtra government and directed it to suspend the servic

Nitin Gadkari calls for efforts by all to reduce road accidents by 50%

During the event, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru and many other stakeholders discussed the key issues related to road safety

NHAI focuses on training to enhance engineering measures on road safety

To propagate the cause of safer roads for all, 'Road Safety Week' is being observed from 11-17

NHAI lays down procedures for extensive audits to enhance road safety

NHAI has laid down extensive policy procedures for carrying out Road Safety Audit and responsibilities has been earmarked for all stakeholders for facilitating the audit

Auto sector must enhance safety features to reduce road accidents: Gadkari

He said that many people in the age group of 18-34 young people are losing their lives due to road accidents

Youth must know road safety rules before getting vehicle keys: Maha Min

Maharashtra Excise Minister Shambhuraj Desai on Wednesday asked officials in transport and police departments to take innovative and practical steps to improve road safety and advised parents to ensure their young children are well aware of traffic rules before giving them vehicles to drive. Highlighting some recent road accidents involving state politicians, Desai said drivers alone cannot be blamed for such tragedies as politicians make them drive for long hours, especially during the night time. The minister was speaking after inaugurating the 34th "Road Safety Drive 2023" at a function at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in South Mumbai. The event coincided with the National Road Safety Week, which is celebrated from January 11 to 17. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who also holds the transport portfolio, and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis were slated to attend the function, but they did not turn up for the event. Addressing the function that was delayed by ...

Uber adds rear seatbelt reminder, SOS integration with cops in India

Uber has launched SOS integration with local police to share critical information with them, including live location