Bhubaneswar: In an effort to curb rising road accidents and ensure stricter compliance with traffic rules, the State Transport Authority (STA) has directed all Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) and Additional RTOs across Odisha to conduct a special enforcement-cum-road safety awareness drive from March 21 to March 31.
According to the order, road accidents and fatalities in the state continue to be a matter of serious concern.
Authorities have reported frequent violations such as triple riding on two-wheelers, riding without helmets, wrong-side driving and other unsafe practices.
In several cases, heavy transport vehicles such as tippers, dumpers and Hyva trucks have also been found operating without valid driving licences or proper authorisation, posing significant safety risks on the roads.
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To address these issues, enforcement activities will be intensified across all jurisdictions, with special focus on accident-prone stretches, national and state highways, mining and industrial corridors, major urban arterial roads, busy junctions, market areas and bus stands.
Transport authorities will deploy teams at vulnerable locations to check violations that directly impact road safety.
During the drive, officials will closely monitor offences such as over-speeding, drunken driving, overloading of goods and passenger vehicles, carrying passengers in goods vehicles, driving without a valid or appropriate class of licence, and movement of over-dimensional cargo without necessary permission and safety compliance.
Special attention will also be given to heavy transport vehicles operating in the mining and construction sectors.
Enforcement teams will verify the validity of driving licences, proper authorisation to operate transport vehicles, overloading and other statutory safety compliances to ensure lawful and safe operations. Each RTO office has been directed to prepare a local enforcement plan identifying vulnerable corridors, team deployment and checking schedules.
Authorities have also been instructed to conduct enforcement operations during evening and night hours.
The Transport Department will coordinate with district police and traffic authorities to strengthen enforcement measures, particularly for drunken driving checks, speed monitoring and traffic regulation at critical locations.
Alongside enforcement, the campaign will also focus on public awareness.
Various road safety programmes such as blood donation camps, eye-testing camps, driver and helper counselling sessions, and interactions with transport unions and vehicle owners’ associations will be organised.
Awareness meetings will also be conducted in schools, colleges and public places, supported by information campaigns through banners, leaflets, public announcements and social media.
Officials have been asked to submit daily reports on enforcement activities, while a consolidated report on the outcomes of the drive will be submitted to the STA by April 1.
