Year-long Road Safety Awareness Campaign launched
Morung Express News
Kohima | December 5
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) launched a year long road safety campaign in Nagaland on December 5. With ‘Time for Action’ as the theme, the campaign was launched at Kohima in collaboration with Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU) and the Nagaland state Motor Vehicles Department.
Alongwith the launch, a one-day road safety workshop was organised at the De Oriental Grand with Chief Minister TR Zeliang, Chief Secretary Pankaj Kumar and Minister for Transport Paiwang Konyak, who is also the Chairman of the Nagaland Road Safety Authority, in attendance.
Zeliang, in his address held that the campaign will go a long way in educating the people on road safety and reducing fatalities. “Motorized transport system has reduced distances, but the faster we move, the greater is the risk we take.” According to him, road accidents can be reduced significantly through introduction of road safety strategies.
As per MoRTH statistics, India reported over 1.4 lakh road fatalities and over 5 lakh accidents in 2015. The number of deaths was marked by an increase of 4.6 percent from 2014. The number of accidents reported in 2014 was 4.8 lakh.
According to the Minister for Transport, Paiwang Konyak, roads, along with its benefits have also contributed to numerous fatal accidents leading to loss of lives. Citing statistics, he held that accidents rate in Nagaland is not as high as against the country-wide figure and other more populous states. However, he reminded of the terrain in Nagaland, which could render accidents more fatal.
Nagaland had the least road crash fatalities, besides Lakshadweep, at 30 deaths in 54 accidents reported in 2015. Rash driving, drinking and driving on poor quality roads account as the major cause of accidents in Nagaland, he said. Stressing on the need to strengthen efforts effectively, he said, “There are some things we can do to avoid accidents. Road safety is very much upto how we use the roads.”
Veerender Singh Rathore, Technical Consultant (Road Safety/Enforcement), MoRTH while highlighting on the basic road safety standard further elucidated on the 6E’s Concept - Engineering of Vehicle, Engineering of Road, Education and Awareness, Enactment of Law and Enforcement, Emergency Care, Environment & Elected Member Commitment – devised as part of a study to promote road safety.
