Road Safety Week will propagate the cause of safe roads: Road Transport Ministry

The Ministry will conduct several activities including `Nukkad Nataks` (street shows) and sensitisation campaigns at various locations in the capital. Further, essay writing and poster making competitions for school students, exhibition and theatre pavilion by corporates/PSUs/ NGOs actively working in the field of road safety, Walkathons and talks/interactions with senior officers will also be held at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa, Delhi.

In addition, road owning agencies such as NHAI, NHIDCL etc. will conduct special drives related to compliance of traffic rules and regulation, pedestrian safety, eye check-up camps for drivers and other road engineering-related initiatives throughout the Country.

A senior official said that concerted efforts are being made by NHAI to identify Accident Prone Stretches and Black Spots on National Highways observing the `Road Safety Week` from January 11-17, 2023.

For this purpose, NHAI has provided enhanced powers to its field officers for road safety mitigation measures. The authority has also deputed a road safety officer at each Regional Office for the monitoring of the safety works.

Between the years 2015-2018, around 4,002 black spots were identified on the National Highways under NHAI.

Short-term safety mitigation measures have been implemented for all these black spots and work on the long-term safety mitigation measures have been completed on 2,704 black spots.

Safety mitigation measures on around 716 black spots were implemented in FY 2021-22 alone. The remaining 1,298 black spots are under various stages of implementation for long-term safety mitigation measures.

Also, to strengthen road safety, all NHAI Regional Officers have been asked to develop five stretches of `Model Safe Road` of at least 15 km length along with five `Model Safe Construction Zones`.

Ten such best safety compliance stretches/construction zones will be evaluated and recognised to serve as a demonstration stretches for further replication.

Improving safety on National Highways is one of the topmost priorities of NHAI and it is committed to ensure safe, smooth, and seamless travel experience for all commuters on the National Highways.

The Ministry has also requested all MPs, state governments and related stakeholders (including corporates, PSUs, NGOs etc.) to actively participate in the event by conducting awareness campaigns about road safety, first responder training, ensuring strict enforcement of rules and regulations up to grass root levels and conducting other activities, workshops & advocacy programmes related to road safety.