Govt to setup helipads on expressways to cut down road fatalities

Gen VK Singh (Retd), Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation, Wednesday said that these measures are part of the government’s efforts to reduce roadside fatalities. The minister said wayside amenities will not only have facilities for helipads but they will also have places where hospitals can set up trauma centers.

New Delhi: In order to cut down the number of casualties in road accidents in the country, the Centre is working on several options including placing ambulances at various highway toll plazas and setting up helipads on each one of the wayside amenities that are coming up along the expressways, a minister said on Wednesday. India accounts for more than 11% of the road accidents in the world and providing timely medical care is crucial for saving the lives of accident victims.

Gen VK Singh (Retd), Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation, Wednesday said that these measures are part of the government’s efforts to reduce roadside fatalities. The minister said wayside amenities will not only have facilities for helipads but they will also have places where hospitals can set up trauma centers.

Addressing a conference on the ‘Role of Corporates in Road Safety’, organized by the industry body FICCI, Singh said that currently the government has placed ambulances at each toll plazas on highways but there is still more which needs to be done in this area. “This is one area where corporates play an important role to find more solutions so that we can save more lives,” Singh told the audience.

The minister said 11 percent of world accidents happen in India and there is a need to bring down the number of road accidents to 2 lakhs per year from the current 5 lakhs. “This can be rectified and brought down if all stakeholders work together,” he added.

Singh said most of the road accidents happen because of the fault of others and despite all the efforts, there is a lack of enforcement and awareness on the issue of road safety. “We all need to come together including the government, corporates, and NGOs to increase the awareness,” added the minister.

Safety measures in vehicles

The strategy to reduce deaths in road accidents is just not limited to placing more ambulances and establishing helipads on the roadside. But the government is also nudging the vehicle manufacturers to further improve the safety features of the vehicles manufactured in the country. One of the key thrust areas is to ensure the availability of world-class airbags in personal cars.

Recently, the government has issued a notification for car makers that makes it mandatory to install six airbags in cars instead of the earlier provision of installing just two airbags. “The auto companies need to follow the same standards as the rest of the world follows. Life is not cheap in India,” he told the audience also including industry representatives.

Training of drivers
Another focus area is improving the quality of training of drivers. Singh said the government is creating an entire ecosystem for road safety which includes the transport sector, drivers, and driving schools, among others. The government has mandated that good driving schools should come up in each state and especially in areas that are in backward regions.

The minister said these schools will be equipped with all modern gadgets so that it also creates job opportunities in the area. “We are providing financial assistance in setting up the schools and the effort is to reduce the number of road accidents,” he said.