Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said road safety is paramount. He added that the government has set a goal of reducing accident deaths by 50% by the year 2030.
Speaking at a gathering arranged by the industry association CII, Gadkari emphasised the significance of altering social behavior, in addition to prioritising the enhancement of the ‘4Es’ of road safety—namely, Engineering (road and vehicle engineering), Enforcement, Education, and Emergency medical service.
What more did Gadkari say?
The minister the need for collaboration among all stakeholders to improve road safety. According to a report cited by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, there were 460,000 road accidents, 168,000 fatalities, and 400,000 serious injuries in the year 2022.
Additionally, Gadkari said that every hour there are 53 road accidents and 19 deaths.
Gadkari reported a 12% rise in the number of road accidents and a 10% increase in accident-related deaths in 2022, leading to a 3.14% loss to the GDP. The minister highlighted that 60% of fatalities occurred within the age group of 18-35 years. Furthermore, he higlhighted the positive impact of implementing a rewards system for good traffic behavior among citizens in Nagpur.
India’s road infrastructure to be at par with US
Last year, Gadkari had outlined the ambitious objective to elevate India’s road infrastructure standards to that of the US within the upcoming five years. As part of this strategy, the government intends to alleviate metro congestion, substantially decrease travel time, and reduce road accidents.
Gadkari underscored that in the past nine years, the ministry has allocated projects surpassing Rs 50 lakh crore and has streamlined the contract approval process through the refinement of existing policies.
(With PTI inputs)