Maha among 3 states with highest deaths in road accidents:Govt

With 11,452 deaths in 2020,Maharashtra figured among top three states that have reportedthe highest number of deaths in road accidents in the country,state Transport Minister Anil Parab said on Monday.

Expressing concern, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeraysaid these figures are serious, as he launched the 32nd RoadSafety Week 2021.

''In 2020, Maharashtra witnessed 25,456 road accidentsand 11,452 road fatalities. Maharashtra is one of the threestates that have reported the highest number of deaths in roadaccidents,'' Parab said at the function.

Thackeray said, ideally, Maharashtra should not figurein the list of the states which have reported deaths in roadaccidents.

''These figures are serious. Rather than being in topranks, Maharashtra should not ideally figure in the list ofstates with road accident fatalities,'' he said.

The chief minister said a road safety drive should notbe limited to a period of a week, fortnight, month or a year,but it should be conducted on a regular basis.

''Booster doses of road safety rules should be given atregular intervals,'' he said.

Thackeray further appealed to motorists to follow the''Niyam'' (rules) and maintain ''Sanyam'' (restraint) to keep''Yam'' (God of death) away.

''I have heard about a new technology which alertsdrivers if they fall asleep while driving due to fatigue. Iwould like to examine such vehicle, if available,'' the chiefminister said.

Thackeray said it was important to provide facilitiesto the public instead of only creating awareness.

Meanwhile, Parab said 50 high quality driver trainingcentres will be opened in Maharashtra through the schemesfunded by the Union government.

Parab said getting a driving licence won't be easyonce these centres become operational.

''Every driver will undergo a test at an automaticcentre. Human interference will be less and a drivers will gethis licence only after going through quality training,'' Parabsaid, adding that a meeting is scheduled in Delhi aboutsetting up such training centres.

The transport minister said the road safety driveshould be held annually and not on a weekly or a monthlybasis.

''Every citizen should be part of this drive,'' headded.

Parab said his department had sought new interceptorvehicles fitted with advanced gadgets like speed guns.

Mumbai guardian minister Aslam Shaikh saidlane-cutting was one of the major causes of road accidents.

''If lane-cutting behaviour is checked and campaignsagainst drunk driving implemented, Maharashtra's roadfatalities ranking will improve from three to seven,'' he said.

Shaikh also underlined the need to increase theamount of traffic fine.

''The process of getting a driving licence is very easyat present, and hence, it should be made tougher, for betterresults,'' he added.

Maharashtra Transport Secretary Ashish Kumar Singhsaid the road safety week will be celebrated as a ''road safetymonth'' between January 18 and February 15.

He said road accidents have claimed more lives lastyear compared to the COVID-19 pandemic.

''Road accidents are a universal emergency, and thesame situation is there in Maharashtra,'' Singh said, addingthat three 'E's of education, enforcement, and engineering areimportant.

He said the Maharashtra government has approved worksfor development of 22 hi-tech test tracks and 10 vehiclestesting centres. ''An amount of up to Rs 300 crore will bespent from the Road Safety Fund,'' Singh added.

ADGP, Maharashtra Police, Bhushankumar Upadhyay saidthe concept of 'My family My responsibility' (the name of thestate government's anti-COVID-19 campaign) is also applicablein road safety.

''More we educate our family members about trafficrules and make children and adult family members aware abouttheir importance, it will be more beneficial to road safety,''Upadhyay said.

He said a fine of Rs 597 crore was collected, butrevenue collection of fines is not the motto of thegovernment.

''Revenue figures should be brought down to minimum aspossible, which would mean that people are following trafficrules,'' he said, adding that the number of (accident) ''blackspots'' should be gone down from 1,077 spots at present.

He also stressed that regular programmes are necessaryin schools and colleges to spread awareness among the studentsabout traffic and road safety rules.

On the occasion, the chief minister felicitateddistrict collectors of Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban,Sindhudurg and Aurangabad for maximum reduction in roadaccidents and fatalities in the year 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)