Aimed at reducing the number of road accidents and ensure safety of commuters in the State, Haryana Government on Thursday announced its road safety policy.
The policy is aimed at achieving 50 per cent reduction in fatalities and injuries by the year 2025, considering 2015 as the base year, and lay emphasis on enhancing awareness about road safety.
As many as 5,250 persons had died while 11,564 were injured in road accidents between January 1, 2015 and January 31, 2016 in the State. A total of 12,009 accidents had occurred during this period.
As many as 8,912 vehicles which had caused accidents were traced and 8,849 drivers were arrested, as per the Government records.
A spokesman of Haryana Transport Department said that the objectives of the comprehensive road safety policy are to establish road safety information database, enhance safer road infrastructure, safety of vulnerable road users, lay emphasis on road traffic safety education and training, strict enforcement of traffic laws, emergency medical assistance to road accident victims, research for road safety and strengthening institutional arrangements.
The Government will encourage research on road Safety by identifying priority areas, funding research in those areas adequately and establishing Centers of Excellence in academic institutions, said he.
Under the policy, the Transport Department being the nodal agency for road safety, will create a State Road Safety Fund with the objective of strengthening and effectively implementing road safety measures in the State. This fund will be utilised for undertaking necessary steps required to reduce accidents and building public awareness about various aspects of Road Safety.
The State Government has also decided to establish a dedicated Steering Committee on Road Safety, headed by the Chief Secretary. This Committee will suggest ways for evolving effective strategies for promoting road safety and to monitor the effective implementation of the road safety policy.
Under this policy, Haryana Government intends to increase coordination between various concerned departments and seek joint efforts from all stakeholders as well as citizens. Government will undertake an in-depth analysis of the factors affecting road safety to achieve the objective in its true spirit, he added.
Also, specific road safety action plans will be formulated by the concerned Departments like Transport, Police, Public Works (Building and Roads), Education and Medical and Health and each Department would ensure appropriate action to give effect to the targets fixed in the action plans.
Giving details about key features of the policy, he said that the State Government plans to undertake concrete efforts to promote public awareness about the various aspects of road safety, through comprehensive measures which include planning and promoting through different methods of Engineering, Enforcement, Education and Emergency care.
The State will try to control the number of accidents, number of deaths and number of injuries through various methods of engineering, enforcement, education and emergency care, said he.
The State will also establish a State level Road Safety Information System to assist all stakeholders in accessing information related to road safety as well as monitoring all Road Safety related measures.
It will prepare a data base of all registrations, driving licenses, permits to enable the enforcing agencies to keep a track of all traffic violators and consequent suspension of registrations, licenses and Permits. This will help in identifying Accident Prone Points and Black Spots besides help in taking remedial steps like traffic lights, speed breakers and road up gradation, said the spokesman.
The Government will adopt an accident reduction strategy for identifying black spots on existing roads and installing speed breakers, traffic lights or redesigning roads at these spots; construction of subways, cyclist paths and pedestrian paths. Apart from this, the system of driver training, licensing and awareness would be made more efficient to improve the competence and capability of the drivers.
Preventive steps like routine eye check-up camps and health camps will also be organized. The State Government will also take steps to ensure that compensation is provided to accident victims especially to those belonging to the poorer sections of the society and within a reasonable period from different schemes in operation in the state added the spokesman.