Ground Report

State Governments Representatives Meet to Address Road Safety Concerns

New Delhi (PIB-GR-TYP-BIN): Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has been emphasizing the need for a multi-sectoral approach to be adopted by the states towards road safety, said Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Mr. Vijay Chhibber, while inaugurating the All India State Governments’ Meet on Road Safety on April 10.

“The real action is in the states if the agenda of reducing road accidents and achieving the target set under the UN Decade of Action is to gain desired momentum”, he added. The UN Decade of Action envisages reduction in road fatalities by 50 per cent by the year 2020.

Mr. Chhibber highlighted the purpose of the Meet, jointly organized by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and International Road Federation (IRF), as to evaluate various actions undertaken by the State Governments regarding road safety and to understand the nature of assistance they may require from the Ministry. He urged the representatives of the State Governments to take steps in the direction of teaching road engineering in the perspective of the end objective to save human lives.

He said that civil society should be engaged as partners in the drives to address major road safety concerns. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has been emphasizing the need for a multi-sectoral approach to be adopted by the states towards road safety, he added.

During the Meet, presentations were made by state representatives covering the current road safety scenario in the states, uniqueness, advantages, bottlenecks and the efforts being made to address these issues. An expert panel consisting of various departments as well as organisations working for road safety gave presentations on engineering, education, social media interaction, legislation and trauma care.

(Source: PIB/GR/TYP/BIN/USPA/WN)