Traffic Rules: Rising Accidents in India Due to Signal Jumping and Helmet-less Driving: Nitin Gadkari | Nagpur News
Nagpur: Expressing concern over the rising number of accidents in India leading to heavy death toll, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said that motorists in the country have no fear or respect of law as they jump signals, do not wear helmets, and often use mobile phones while driving.
Speaking during an interview, conducted by actor Nana Patekar, on road safety campaign at Vanamati Auditorium, the city MP admitted that despite making stricter rules and levying hefty fines, the accident numbers are on the rise.
“The next generation should get lessons right from their school age to follow traffic rules. The headmasters, principals, NGOs should all work together to create awareness in this regard,” Gadkari said.
The questions were framed by Patekar. He asked Gadakri what is expected from the public to bring down the cases of accident.
Gadkari informed that over five lakh accidents took place in India every year leading to around 1.68 lakh deaths. “About 65% of them are youths in the age group of 18 to 34 years, which is very painful. If a young person dies, his family suffers a big loss. The key to prevent accidents is public awareness on the traffic rules. If the entire society gets serious on this aspect, the accidents and casualties would be reduced significantly,” Gadkari said.
Pointing out that his ministry had identified over 3,600 black spots, Gadkari said they had taken a slew of measures like making six airbags mandatory for four-wheelers and making truck cabins air conditioned to prevent loss of lives in the accidents.
“We are trying to find out the reasons behind accidents and to prevent them. The work has started to correct the errors in road engineering. A bus code has been created after the Samruddhi expressway accident. It specifies emergency exit locations, seat spacing, electric wiring specifications, braking performance and electric wiring specification. It also specifies that windows should have safety glass that breaks on impact. Volvo buses like those in Germany and England will soon be seen in India,” Gadkari said.
Gadkari said that after the age of 65 years, one should stop driving voluntarily. “Some people boast of driving at 81. People should decide about their own safety. Most of the accidents take place due to jumping the signal, breaking the lane discipline, and overtaking. We are making improvements on our part, but the public’s cooperation is a must,” Gadkari said.