Government Sets target of Reducing Road Accident Deaths by 50% by the Year 2024

The Minister pointed out that 50% of the road accidents are due to road engineering problems and now the government has taken special initiatives to improve the black spot

Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Nitin Gadkari said that the Government’s target is to reduce road accident deaths by 50% by the year 2024.

Addressing a virtual session on ‘Role of Corporates in Arresting Road Fatalities’ organized by FICCI, Shri Gadkari congratulated FICCI on the announcement of Road Safety consortium ‘Safar’, based on the safe system approach and release of a white paper on road safety for the corporate world. The Minister emphasized the need for the identification of a ‘black spot’ in every state, district, and city. The Minister said that the World Bank and ADB have already sanctioned a scheme by which the Government is allocating Rs.14,000 crores for states, NHAI, and other stakeholders to remove black spots.

The Minister said that his Ministry is striving hard to reduce road accident deaths by restructuring and strengthening four ‘E’s of road safety, which are, Engineering (including road and automobile engineering), Economy, Enforcement, and Education. He suggested that the corporate world should carry out independent surveys to identify the reasons behind the accidents and a report may be submitted to the Ministry. The Minister pointed out that 50% of the road accidents are due to road engineering problems and now the government has taken special initiatives to improve the black spot. This will greatly contribute towards the vision of ‘zero road accidents in India.

Shri Gadkari said that cooperation of NGOs, social organisations, universities are needed for education and awareness. The Minister announced that an independent road safety council, headed by a retired IAS officer would come into force within 15 days.