The Hindu : Front Page : Patrol teams made answerable for accidents

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Wednesday, Dec 06, 2006
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Patrol teams made answerable for accidents

K.T. Sangameswaran

CHENNAI: Concerned at the increasing number of road accidents and high fatalities, mostly on national highways, the police headquarters has fixed accountability for mishaps on Highway Patrol Teams (HPT) which cover about 3,850 km of national highways in the State.

This, police authorities say, should go a long way in reducing the number of accidents.

Instructions have been renewed to Superintendents of Police in the districts and Commissioners of Police in cities to analyse the causes and try to reduce accidents. As part of the overall efforts to reduce accidents, Additional Director-General of Police, Law and Order, K.V.S. Murthy, is constantly monitoring the situation.

There are 80 HPTs on national highways in the State. Under the reorganised functioning, the patrol teams, besides removing accident victims to Emergency Accident Relief Centres for first aid and, if necessary, admitting them to hospitals, are empowered to register motor vehicle petty cases against drivers for over-speeding, drunken driving, overloading and using dazzling lights.

As several accidents also occur due to vehicles ramming into broken-down ones on the carriageway, the patrol parties have been instructed to ensure there are no such obstructions. A senior State police officer says a contributory factor for the decline in number of accidents on national highways in October, compared to September, may be due to the work done by the patrol teams.

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