With Punjab ranking third in the country in terms of road mishap fatalities, according to the Union ministry of road transport and highways, the issue of road safety appears to be a neglected field in the state so far. The recent rise in the number of vehicles coupled with increasing traffic hazards, especially in big cities, has posed a major challenge to authorities concerned. Additional director general of police (traffic and road safety) AS Rai talks about the endeavours being taken up by the police, such as using technology, having adequate personnel and the reduction in mishap deaths with the introduction of the Sadak Surakhya Force. Excerpts:
Q: The traffic problem seems to be getting worse, especially in big cities. Why so?
Increasing development and lack of planning on the part of the stakeholders is the main reason. The biggest problem is the vehicle population. If you have the population increasing, like it is in Punjab, traffic problems and accidents will take place. Till now, the attempts to improve traffic management has been ad hoc in nature and therefore they haven’t borne much fruit. The approach to traffic management is based on scientific analysis of the traffic and then taking measures to solve the problem by leveraging, using technology as a force multiplier.
Drunk driving and overspeeding are rampant in Punjab. Why Chandigarh-like strictness is missing in the state?
To check overspeeding, we have recently purchased 27 speed guns and interceptors (vehicles). We have around 650 alcometers and have ordered 800 additional alcometers, out of which we already have got funds for 400. We are sincerely working on drunk and fun driving. The SPs and the DSPs managing the traffic affairs have been asked to start working on how to use these equipment for challans. We also had a meeting on this with the chief secretary, who too said that SPs/DSPs who would not work on issuing drunk-driving challans would be pulled up. Violation of orders will be mentioned in the annual appraisal of the officials concerned.
{{/usCountry}}To check overspeeding, we have recently purchased 27 speed guns and interceptors (vehicles). We have around 650 alcometers and have ordered 800 additional alcometers, out of which we already have got funds for 400. We are sincerely working on drunk and fun driving. The SPs and the DSPs managing the traffic affairs have been asked to start working on how to use these equipment for challans. We also had a meeting on this with the chief secretary, who too said that SPs/DSPs who would not work on issuing drunk-driving challans would be pulled up. Violation of orders will be mentioned in the annual appraisal of the officials concerned.
{{/usCountry}}The state’s traffic was being managed by just 1,250 cops till recently. Are traffic personnel enough in number?
We are working on the scarcity of manpower. It has been decided to have a system of recruitment every year and a particular percentage from among new recruits will be brought to the traffic department. I sincerely feel that mere physical presence of force won’t make a difference. Use of technology can be a force multiplier. Another aspect of traffic management is the data-driven approach which is helping us in many ways. Since the traffic enforcement is done at the district level, we only do the planning thing here. To get the things enforced, it comes down to the district polices.
You emphasise on technology, but beginning of e-challan is still a distant dream. Why so?
We have three cities — Ludhiana, Amritsar and Mohali — which have been covered under the safe city project of the Central government. In Ludhiana, cameras have been set up and the work is on in Mohali and Amritsar. Punjab chief minister has taken up the project further and provided sanction to install e-challan cameras in the districts around Chandigarh, such as Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar and SBS Nagar. Once people enter Punjab from Chandigarh, they tend to resort to overspeeding and do not follow the traffic norms. e-challans would be issued to them as well.
Sadak Surakhya Force has been set up to reduce mishap deaths. Has it actually worked?
Coming into existence on February 1, the Sadak Surakhya Force (SSF) has recently completed six months and through this agency we have been able to bring down the fatality rate. If we compare the mishap-related deaths in the past six months than those in six months preceding the formation of the SSF, the number has reduced by 25%, which is remarkable. We are working towards integrating the SSF with the ambulance network.
Do you think the civil society needs to be more focused when it comes to road safety?
I won’t go into that but we are working on involving people in traffic management. Any kind of enforcement can’t last long until it has the support or participation of people. So, we are creating those change agents in society. We are also trying to have knowledge partners so we have a memorandum of understanding with Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar and similar arrangements with Lovely Professional University and other educational institutions. We have renamed the traffic wing after road safety. The nomenclature has changed and this is just an indication of our approach that the concern is saving lives by making make people follow traffic rules.