To curb the growing menace of road accidents on highways and expressways, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered effective action against unauthorised vehicles and overloaded trucks. He has also directed officials to close the liquor vends on the sides of expressways and highways.

“No liquor shops should be permitted along expressways and highways,” said, noting that the signages for these shops were often extensive and should be reduced in size.

The chief minister chaired a meeting of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Safety Council on Sunday. The meeting was attended by ministers of the departments concerned, senior government officials, divisional commissioners, district magistrates, police commissioners, and superintendents of police. During the meeting, the chief minister issued essential directives to reduce road accidents in the state effectively.

Reviewing the annual data on road accidents, the chief minister highlighted that 46,052 accidents occurred in 2024, resulting in 34,600 injuries and over 24,000 fatalities – figures he described as deeply distressing.

Expressing concern at the delay in treatment of accident victims, the chief minister proposed setting up hospital facilities along both sides of all expressways, similar to food plazas.

Emphasising the need for urgent action, the chief minister instructed all departments related to road safety to work in coordination to curb accidents. He also directed officials to identify and rectify black spots on all state routes.

Additionally, he called for setting up of trauma centres along with deployment of ambulances and trained medical staff at hospitals in all divisional headquarters.

Chief Minister Yogi said that  in 2024, out of 75 districts in the state, 20 districts, namely Hardoi, Mathura, Agra, Lucknow, Bulandshahr, Kanpur Nagar, Prayagraj, Sitapur, Unnao, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bareilly, Aligarh, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Budaun, Meerut and Bijnor, recorded the highest fatalities in road accidents. These districts accounted for 42 per cent of the total accident-related deaths in the state, he pointed out.

To address this issue, he instructed officials to identify the causes of accidents and enhance public awareness about road safety. He emphasised the importance of regular meetings of the Divisional Road Safety Committee, directing that they should be held monthly at the district level and quarterly at the divisional level to prevent road accidents.

The chief minister expressed concern that only one meeting was held last year in six divisions – Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Saharanpur and Agra – and called for an increase in the frequency of these meetings. However, he expressed satisfaction with the four meetings conducted in Basti, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Mirzapur.

Additionally, the chief minister instructed the districts of Balrampur, Firozabad, Gonda, Chandauli and Jaunpur, which had fewer District Road Safety Committee meetings in 2024, to conduct meetings within this week. He also directed the 38 districts that held 10 or more meetings to continue organising them according to the government’s SOP (standard operating procedure).

Highlighting the primary causes of road accidents – overspeeding, drunk driving, wrong-side driving, jumping signals and mobile phone use – the chief minister stressed the need to raise public awareness.

He urged the Basic Education Department, Secondary Education Department and Higher Education Department to conduct activities related to road safety in schools and colleges. Furthermore, he recommended incorporating traffic rules into schools’ curriculum under the Basic and Secondary Education departments.

The chief minister also instructed authorities to prohibit buses without permits from operating on roads and to take strict action against unauthorised vehicles and overloaded trucks. He emphasised that vehicles from other states without permits must be stopped at the borders. Additionally, Chief Minister Yogi called for engaging with the Transport Association and Vehicle Association to ensure that long-distance vehicles have two drivers.

The chief minister highlighted the need to increase the number of cranes, patrol vehicles and ambulances on expressways and highways. He pointed out that surveillance cameras are installed on only four of the 93 National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) roads in the state. He instructed that cameras be installed on the remaining roads as well.

Expressing concern over frequent accidents, he emphasised the need for foot over bridges at critical points on NHAI roads and directed officials to identify such locations and proceed with their construction. Additionally, he stressed that road safety signage must be installed on all major roads across the state. The chief minister also expressed concerns about minors driving e-rickshaws in urban areas and directed officials to enforce strict measures to prevent this.

He called for verifying all e-rickshaw drivers and emphasised the need to keep the regional transport offices (RTOs) free from middlemen by conducting periodic random checks.

Addressing the issue of traffic congestion, the chief minister pointed out that the state has adequate manpower to manage traffic efficiently. He suggested training personnel from the civil police, Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) and Home Guard to improve traffic management. He instructed that table-top speed breakers be constructed near hospitals, schools and main markets to enhance road safety.