Keeping in view the rising cases of road accidents resulting in loss of many precious lives, Safe Community Foundation Raahat chairman Dr Kamaljit Soi on Friday urged the States to initiate installation of speed governors in vehicles to check mishaps.
“April 1. 2016 is the last date of installation of speed governors in vehicles as mandated by the Supreme Court to save precious human lives. We all should take precautionary measures to minimise road accidents,” Soi said.
As per a recent survey, commercial vehicles on highway with high speed are one of the main reasons behind accidents. There are around four lakh commercial vehicles in Odisha, he informed.
Soi said that according to the National Crime Research Bureau (NCRB), about 10,000 people die and around 11,000 to 12,000 are injured in road accidents in Odisha every year.
Drunken driving is also another reason of the increasing rate of accidents, and around 70 per cent illiterate persons are responsible for the road accidents, he added.
On lifesaving strategy, he explained about Rs 3 -- reaction time, receiving time and rescue time.
Odisha has made no effort to ensure availability of speed governors to achieve the intent and directions, he said.
“We had a discussion with the Transport Department Principal Secretary to implement speed governors through a proper process,” said Soi. He also said the most effective way to reduce accidents is by slowing down on roads.
“If we all slow down, our chances of being killed or seriously injured on the road would dramatically decrease,” he maintained.
Speed governor has already been implemented in eight States, he informed.
Soi is also a member of the National Road Safety Council of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.