Expressing deep concern at the death of at least 48 persons in the bus accident in Pauri district, the Geneva-based International Road Federation (IRF) has stressed on the need of installation of crash barriers, separate tough driving license for mountain drivers and stricter fitness and overloading norms for vehicles.
“The mountain roads in the country are prone to regular road accidents. A lot needs to be done to ensure road safety, especially in higher areas in the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and North East States in the country. The Government should plan to incorporate the latest technologies and safety features, including installation of soil and slope stabilisation and roadside safety in the mountainous terrain infrastructure, crash barriers, intelligent traffic plans, rumble strips, use of speed governors and proper signages,” said IRF chairman KK Kapila in a statement.
“Installation of crash barriers, special separate tough driving license for mountain drivers, use of vehicle tracking system, tough vehicle fitness norms and certification and development of safety code for mountains should also be adhered to make road travel safe and sustainable on mountain roads,” he said.
“Recent move by Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as confirmed by prime minister Narendra Modi to install crash barriers and parapets on most of the mountain roads in Uttarakhand including Chard Dham Yatra route, to curb accidents and make the mountain roads safer is welcome. Road crash barrier systems are used worldwide on highways, especially on mountain roads, to physically prevent vehicles from running off the roadway or falling down a steep slope and protect vehicle hitting a road side object. Similar crash barriers should be installed in all mountain roads,” added Kapila.
The Ministry of Road and State Public Works Department should focus on engineering safe roads rather than more roads as rectifying faulty designed roads with black spots is more expensive than building safe roads. Similarly, the stress should also be on safe vehicles with higher visibility features, including ABS brakes, reflective tapes on commercial vehicles and mandatory fog lamps on all vehicles, he stated.