Road Safety Policy

SHILLONG, JUN 5: The ruling Congress led MUA-II state government today approved the draft ‘State Road Safety Policy’ which aims at reducing the level of deaths and injuries in road accidents to half by 2020.

“We have approved the draft policy which proposes to bring about a significant reduction in accident and mortality rates resulting from road accidents,” Transport Minister HDR Lyngdoh told reporters after a cabinet meeting held here.

He said the government recognizes that as road accidents involve condition of roads, consciousness of road users and types of motor vehicles, road safety requires to be addressed involving all stakeholders by adopting a holistic approach.

The draft state road safety policy has by and large followed the spirit and essence of the national level policy.

In order to achieve a significant improvement in road safety, the government is committed to strengthen the legal, institutional and financial arrangements by creating a state road safety fund with an initial corpus of Rs 3 crore.

As per the draft policy, the government would also establish Motor Accident Claims Tribunals (MACT) in adequate numbers.

Besides promoting road safety awareness, the government will also establish a State Level Road Safety Information System (SLRSIS) which will reach the district, block and police station levels.

The state government would also take steps to ensure the best practices in planning, design and construction of roads, including road furniture are adopted.

Emphasizing the need for road safety audits, it stated that in all roads amounting to Rs 10 crores and above, the safety audit would be conducted before the design stage.

The “black spots” or “accident prone areas” will be identified on the  basis of intensity and severity of accidents using appropriate indicators and effective measures to reduce the black spots would be taken.

Steps will also be taken to promote statutory periodic inspections as an essential check on the road worthiness of all vehicles to ensure safer vehicles and enhance appropriate infrastructure and development of testing and simulating tracks for training of drivers by promoting number of well equipped driving schools.

It also seek to ensure that speed limits signages are properly installed at vulnerable road sections to reduce road accidents besides speed cameras shall be provided in nthese sections to check the  speed limits of the drivers.

Meanwhile, the state government will also make effort to ensure that persons involved in road accidents benefits from speedy and effective trauma care and health management.

Apart from improving the capacity of government hospitals to deal with emergency medical response, the government would seek the help of the Centre in establishing trauma centres with manpower in all district headquarters.