New Delhi: A dip in the number of road accidents from 2016 in 2017 has prompted the Nagpur’s Regional Transport Office to implement further measures and lessen the number of road accidents in 2018 as well. With the commencement of the Road Safety Week on April 23, Nagpur witnessed the formation of a regional road safety committee of which the local MLA will be the chairman. Apart from the local MLA, other members of the legislative assembly from Nagpur, the local mayor, superintendent of police and NGO members will also be a part of the committee, which will monitor road safety parameters in Nagpur.
Nagpur’s performance in curbing deaths due to road accidents has seen marginal improvement, which has instilled a sense of confidence in the local administration. In 2016, a total of 310 people died in Nagpur due to road accidents, but the number came down to 232 in 2017, signaling a decrease of 28 per cent within a year. The authorities took this as a good sign and decided that by forming a proper committee to plan road safety, the number of fatalities could be further reduced.
The decrease in the number of deaths is not huge but it gave us enough confidence to form a proper committee that will make and execute plans to reduce the number of road accidents. The decrease in deaths was possible because of proper policing, checkpoints and taking out rallies to create awareness on the dangers of driving under influence, said Sharad Jichkar, Regional Transport Officer, Nagpur.
The members of the road safety committee will monitor the regional office’s work in implementing road safety guidelines, and put forward suggestions and recommendations. The members will also monitor the work done by regional officers, and check if enough is being done to reduce road accidents. The committee will also be responsible for chalking out plans related to arrangement of rallies and awareness camps, which can contribute to people taking more precautions during driving and avoiding accidents.
Members from all walks of life have been made part of the committee so that all suggestions can be considered. From holding awareness camps to manning accident prone sites, we will take suggestions from the committee on all such matters and implement after due consideration, said Mr Jichkar.
Though the Road Safety Week runs till April 30, Maharashtra will observe the week for additional seven days, till May 7. During this fortnight, Nagpur has arranged for a number of rallies along with its traffic police department, education and health department, involving school children and voluntary organisations. With the formation of the regional road safety committee, Nagpur will hope that expert advice makes a difference and further reduces accidents and related deaths in coming days.