Bhubaneswar: Dubbing the recent mishap in Bhadrak ‘a clear case of human error’, Transport Secretary G Srinivas said though precautionary measures are taken to avoid such mishaps there is also a need for public awareness.
During design and repair of a national highway, local police and Collector sit for the design audit to identify the spots with human crossings. Besides, the accident spots known as ‘black spots’ are identified during the design and rectified.
The road accident sites up to 2016 have been identified and repaired and the ones identified till 2017 will be repaired by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and state authorities which is an ongoing process, Srinivas said.
“In Bhadrak case, the driver was probably drunk. Enforcement measures such as drunk driving, helmetless driving and use of seatbelt are reviewed every month. Police, motor vehicle inspectors and other enforcement staff are also submitting monthly reports,” he added.
A Road Safety Society in Bhadrak, with the Collector as its Chairman, held a meeting with NHAI authorities Friday to discuss on the road designs. The NHAI was asked to identify the black spots with schools nearby before design of new roads and plan.
Srinivas further said that the vehicle that caused the accident had a registration number of a neighbouring state.
Traffic police and personnel of four police stations in Sambalpur town Friday checked all school vans and auto-rickshaws carrying students to schools. Police detected defects in nearly 54 school vans and collected a penalty of Rs 6,600.
Besides, 15 personal recognisance bond under different sections of the Motor Vehicle Act have been submitted against the violators.
The owners of school vans have been instructed to write School Bus/Van/on school duty in the front and rear of the vehicle, keep first-aid box, fit horizontal grilles on the windows, keep fire extinguisher, and school bags safely under the seats and drive the vehicle within the prescribed speed limit.
A speeding truck ran over a group of nine children returning from school in Bhadrak district Thursday, killing five of them and injuring the others. While four of the children died on the spot, one succumbed to injuries in hospital. The incident occurred at Ranital near Rahanja Square when the children were crossing National Highway-16 on their bicycles.
PNN
