E-Paper
State to tighten noose around traffic offenders
In 2021, 14,540 accidents took place on national highways alone, ministry data showed. Over 11,000 of them were reported in rural areas.
The Uttar Pradesh government will launch a month-long road safety awareness drive on Thursday in light of the high number of road accidents reported in the state in recent years. In 2021, the state reported as many as 37,729 road accidents, data from the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) revealed.
With Road Safety Week approaching, state transport minister Dayashankar Singh has asked his department to collaborate with other government stakeholders to conduct the drive. Subsequently, the public works department has been tasked with putting up more comprehensive signboards and signals on streets that are difficult to ignore. “Officials will also pay more attention to black spots (accident-prone areas),” said assistant regional transport officer Akhilesh Soni, adding schools would also do their bit in raising awareness on road safety.
“Overspeeding has largely been the leading cause of road accidents in the state. The system we have in place for repeat offenders will be more strictly enforced wherein their driving licenses will be revoked and they face legal action.”
In 2021, 14,540 accidents took place on national highways alone, the ministry data showed. Over 11,000 of them were reported in rural areas. The same year, UP also recorded the highest number of 21,227 accident fatalities on highways. This figure is the highest in the country. UP has the highest number of national highways (87) that run through the state.
The transport minister suggested that a committee be put in place to ideate for better road safety mechanisms as the target of the government was to reduce road accidents by 50% by 2024.
