MHA, States requested to give food, medical aids on such roads
The tragic deaths of migrant workers in road accidents in several parts of the country have forced the Road and Transport Ministry to ask the Union Home Ministry and the States to earmark dedicated lanes for the pedestrians.
These lanes should have provisions for food and medical assistance at certain intervals to facilitate easy movements of migrant workers who have hit the roads to reach their destinations.
Sources said the Home Ministry is in the process of issuing a separate advisory to the States to ensure safety measures for the migrants walking on roads to reach their home.
As many as 1,253 road accidents claimed 456 lives between March 24 and May 19 and left 930 persons injured during the lockdown.
A report submitted to the Centre by a road safety organisation has shown that 180 migrants lost their lives in road accidents which left 694 seriously injured.
According to a study compiled this week, a road crash is 10 times more fatal to someone than getting infected with coronavirus.
During the last two months, the fatality rate on road stood at 32 per cent compared to 2019 when it was 30 per cent.
Organisations and NGOs working in the field of road and highways safety have demanded certain vital measures which include a dedicated lane free from motor movement to facilitate safe movement of the migrant workers.
Experts have also sought kiosk, food and medical facilities and a mini motorcade system which can ferry the needy like old people, children, divyangs for some distance.
But the most significant and urgent demand of the experts is to allow only trained drivers on long-distance highways and roads and restrict the speed. In case of speed violation, the owners of the vehicles and drivers should be booked under Epidemic Act besides their prosecution as per the provision under Motor Vehicle Act.
“Yet another mass casualty crash in Bhagalpur district of Bihar has broken the myth that Indian roads are safe during the lockdown due to Covid. Over 450 people have lost their lives and another 930 have been injured in road crashes since the lockdown began on March 24. As many as 39 per cent (180) of these deaths include migrant workers. The reasons for these deaths include driver fatigue, speeding, collisions and pedestrian rundowns. State Governments need to urgently implement measures to ensure their safety,” said Piyush Tewari, Founder & CEO SaveLIFE Foundation, working on road safety and conducting research on road safety issues comparing with Covid-19 lockdown.
Road Safety Network, a coalition of road safety experts and organisations, has sent a slew of recommendations to the Union Home Ministry and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. They have suggested to immediately notify temporary lanes for pedestrians and cyclists on all roads across the nation until the lockdown period ends. Harman Singh Sidhu of ArriveSAFE has urged Gadkari to issue directions to keep one lane ‘vehicle free’ as soon as possible.
With road movement still restricted in the extended lockdown period, the experts have cited high speed and reckless driving as the main reason of the fatal crashes being reported now.