To be developed by Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) under its ‘Integrated Road Safety Initiative’ in India, this will be the first road here being transformed for such smooth operations. Australian Assistant Minister for Infrastructure,Mr Jamie Briggs and International Road Federation (IRF) Chairman, Dr K K Kapila have signed an MoU at the ‘Status of Road Safety and Safe Mobility Initiative in India’ seminar hosted by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and IRF in Delhi.
Austrade will develop this demonstration stretch to install Junction management gadgets, speed measurement devices, variable electronic message sign boards, lane violation check cameras linked with mini control system for appropriate monitoring of the traffic on the pilot demo stretch. Traffic control devices for smooth traffic flow, road safety and safe mobility will be in use says Kapila.
Jamie Briggs, Australian Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and regional Development says Austrade is making available Australian capability and expertise in Road Safety for India. Road Safety being a global effort and shared responsibility, reduction of fatal road accidents in Delhi last year is positive sign. More efforts are required as every road casualty impacts lives of victims’ families, friends and communities. Safety benefits generated from better roads is tremendous. Vehicle manufacturers can implement new safety and vehicle tech to reduce road trauma, and governments can improve roads and road rules. However, responsible and safe driving remains a key driver. Globally, vehicle technology is on the edge of major transformations which will reduce the road toll exponentially. Briggs spoke of road safety measures in Australia, while emphasising on better roads, safe technology, and responsible and safe driving.
The 2 day Road Safety and Safe Mobility:Initiatives in India conference was inaugurated by Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Vijay Chhibber. To combat high fatality rate in road accidents in India, Government initiatives are intended to improve road safety standards in India. Road safety awareness levels need to be raised, and this will be promoted through social messaging on road safety and in school curriculum. Initiatives include unified vehicle registration system at national level, unified driving license system with automated driving test, penalty point system to track driver and vehicles involved in accidents, zero tolerance for drunken driving, mandatory use of helmets, greater use of technology for compliance, mandatory crash test for vehicles and cashless treatment to road accident victims. Private sector must be involved in improving road safety standards.
