Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Oct 18: In a bid to minimise the possibilities of road mishaps, the state government has directed the transport department to link details of accidents and traffic offences committed by vehicle drivers with their driving licences (DL) in the department’s database so that appropriate action can be taken against people engaging in reckless driving.
In a high-level meeting held here recently, Chief Secretary GC Pati also asked the police department to mention the DL number of the drivers in the accident case records. He also asked the officials to cancel the DL of drivers who cause accidents by their reckless driving.
Both the transport and police departments were asked at this meeting to conduct awareness drives jointly for vehicle drivers. The chief secretary suggested that awareness and enforcement activities should be conducted simultaneously to prevent fatal incidents, which cause an adverse impact on the state’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Pati also advised the health department officials to issue a standard operating procedure (SOP) for doctors to deal with road accident cases. Emphasizing on post-accident care and management, he asked health officials to come up with clear-cut guidelines within 15 days.
The state government has initiated steps for taking up a road-safety audit of the black spots on different roads in the state, sources said.
All the regional transport officers (RTOs) have been instructed to suspend driving license for a period of three months in case of speed driving, drunken driving, carrying an overload of passengers or goods and use of mobile phones while driving.
The officers have also been asked to issue direction to all two-wheeler dealers for supply of helmets at the time of sale of two-wheelers.
Even though Orissa is not among the top 13 road accident-prone states, it accounts for around 1.97 per cent of total road accidents occurring in the country and has a 2.81 per cent share in the total number of persons killed in these fatal incidents. The accident rate per 10,000 vehicles in the state is around 18.91 per cent against the national average of 26.8 per cent. Last year, the state recorded around 9,648 road accidents cases, in which 3,931 persons were killed and 11,087 persons were injured.
