Create an action plan within a week to reduce the number of accidents on highways – Minister of State for Transport Satej Patil.
Minister of State for Transport Satej alias Bunty D. Patil directed to prepare an action plan within a week to reduce the number of accidents on national highways. He was speaking at a televised review meeting on reducing the number of accidents on national highways.
The meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao, Transport Commissioner Dr Avinash Dhakne, Special Inspector General of Police Manoj Lohia, District Collectors of Pune, Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur Districts, Superintendent of Police, Highway Police Force officers and Piyush Tiwari, Founder President of Save Life Foundation.
As many as 125 people have been killed in road accidents on Pune-Satara and Satara-Kagal highways in the year 2019-20 due to various reasons. We are working hard to make this corridor a ‘Zero Death Corridor’ as well as to make all the highways in the state safe for traffic. The state government is making all-out efforts for the safety of all. Minister of State Shri Patil appealed to all of us to travel safely by strictly following all the traffic rules.
The report submitted by Save Life to the government to reduce the number of accidents by inspecting the NH-48 highway was discussed in detail. The report makes detailed recommendations on engineering, implementation, emergency response and necessary training. Mr Patil was instructed to prepare an action plan within a week to implement all these recommendations.
Accidents are caused due to speeding, not wearing seat belts, not wearing helmets, sudden change of lanes, indicators, headlights not being in good condition etc. All these matters are considered in detail and instructions are given to take all the appropriate measures. In addition, the Pune, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur police chiefs have been instructed to form a dedicated vehicle and team for patrolling the highway 24×7 each and start patrolling immediately. Minister of State Satej Patil also said that in future, emphasis will be laid on enabling information technology-based infrastructure on highways.
Most of the unfortunate victims of road accidents are young, have a family base, and the damage is irreparable. Accidents are also caused by natural causes, but 90 per cent of accidents are due to human error, according to several reports.
