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Action plan for road safety mooted

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 6. A short-term and long-term road safety action plan with specific targets to be implemented in the next two to five years in a coordinated manner has been mooted for achieving sustainable improvement in road safety in view of the mounting road accidents in the State.

Various components like creation of a clear database, raising awareness and understanding of road safety problem, providing road safety education and training, traffic safety legislation, enforcing of traffic laws and monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of road safety activities should be included in the action plan, according to the Director of the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (Natpac), T. Elangovan.

Besides, improvement of road safety requires participation of different organisations and sectors. Under the road safety action plan, purchase of road safety equipment for traffic control and regulation by the police in each of the 14 districts in the State has been mooted. Reflective batons, reflective jackets, traffic cones, reflective marking barricades, regulatory traffic lights, cats eye, reflective road marker, radar guns and breath analyser are the road safety equipment suggested for introduction.

The Natpac Director also suggested establishing of emergency accident relief centres on stretches of National Highways at a distance of 50 km from one another with ambulances and wireless equipment, medical facilities and paramedical staff. The ambulance can be obtained from Government organisations or from the private sector and can be operated using the funds from the Road Safety Fund.

The upgradation of the accident and emergency facilities in the hospitals at selected locations, development of sound database on road accidents and accident information system and identification of accident-prone zones in the State and improvement of the same on priority basis have also been proposed under the road safety action plan

The setting of a training institute for drivers and traffic police personnel to educate them on the importance of road safety and monitoring and coordination of various agencies has also been mooted under the plan.

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