Soon breathalyser tests on Samruddhi E-way to curb accidents

On July 1, at least 25, including three children and one of the bus drivers, were killed, and eight others were injured, in a bus accident on the expressway near Buldhana. The deceased bus driver was found to be drunk. Around 109 deaths occurred in accidents on the expressway so far

Mumbai: The state government on Thursday declared to start mandatory breathalyser tests for bus drivers plying on the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway to reduce the number of accidents in the stretch. Random breathalyser tests will be conducted for the rest of the vehicles to prevent drunk and rash driving.

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Dada Bhuse, public works (undertakings) minister, made the announcement in the state assembly on Thursday.

On July 1, at least 25, including three children and one of the bus drivers, were killed, and eight others were injured, in a bus accident on the expressway near Buldhana. The deceased bus driver was found to be drunk. Around 109 deaths occurred in accidents on the expressway so far.

Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan raised the issue of accidents on the Samruddhi Expressway in the lower House.

In response, Bhuse said they are taking all the measures to curb the accidents on the expressway. “We have decided to start breathalyser tests on the expressway, especially for bus drivers. Random breathalyser tests will be done for other vehicles,” he said.

He said that the work for installing 370 CCTV cameras is under process, which will also check the speed of the vehicle while entering and leaving the expressway and the time it has taken to complete the patch. “We have also brought down the speed limit from 150 kmph to 120 kmph for cars, 100 kmph for light commercial vehicles and 80 kmph for heavy vehicles,” Bhuse added.

The state government is also taking help from experts to understand what all facilities can be created to reduce road accidents on the expressway.