Bhubaneswar: Despite government's crackdown on errant drivers, as many as 15 persons die every day in road accidents while maximum cases were found to be motorcyclists. The alarming statistics was revealed at a review meeting on Road Safety presided by Chief Secretary AP Padhi here on Tuesday.
Through a video conferencing, Padhi held discussions with all the District Collectors, SPs and RTOs and directed them to formulate an action plan and enforce traffic laws in every nook and corner of the state to reduce the number of road accidents.
This apart, the state government has decided to launch an extensive drive to keep a close watch on the vulnerable zones as well as strengthen enforcement of road safety laws and traffic rules in urban and rural areas.
As per sources, of the 15 states where accidents and accidental deaths have risen, Odisha's Bargarh, Puri and Jharsuguda have witnessed accidents with increased frequency.
Transport Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi said, "The chief secretary gave ample importance for carrying out enforcement in the village areas apart from the urban areas. Helmet checking will now be done strictly in all places as 35 per cent of total accidental deaths reported are of persons riding two-wheelers."
Similarly, we have prepared a module to include road accidents in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) data available in each police station, the Commissioner added.