Odisha Govt Says Zero Tolerance On Traffic Violation As State Sees High Helmetless Driving Fatalities

Bhubaneswar: With around 2397 bikers dying due to critical head injuries due to helmetless driving in 2019 as per a report, Odisha government has asked authorities to tighten the noose around traffic violators by implementing zero-tolerance policy in road safety guidelines.

Chairing a high-level meeting, Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra on Monday directed top police officers and Road Transport Officers (RTOs) to ensure strict implementation of the traffic rules and take steps at the district level to bring down fatalities.

Mohapatra asked the officials to keep a strict watch on the bikers who ride two-wheelers without wearing helmets. It may be mentioned that wearing helmets have been made mandatory for both the riders and those riding pillion.

Principal Secretary of Commerce and Transport department Madhusudan Padhi who attended the meeting presented details of the action plan to bring down road accidents.

The Chief Secretary has directed the RTOs to place rumbler strips at the junction connecting National Highways and state highways. Information boards mentioning road safety norms should also be installed at every point to make the commuters aware regarding traffic guidelines, Mohapatra said.

Rash driving and bikers without helmets should be strictly dealt with, he added.

Mohapatra said the black spots identified since 2016 in the national and state highways should be rectified. He directed the officials to repair the black spots to enable smooth flow of traffic.

Meanwhile, road safety experts have emphasized on the installation of CCTV cameras at every traffic point.

"Use of massive CCTV cameras at major traffic squares can check speeding vehicles and rash driving. One traffic cop can't intercept a biker who violates rules at the junction. So, CCTV cameras capture the video of the violators who can be caught later. Commuters would also fear to breach traffic regulations due to camera vigil," said Muqabal Ali, road safety expert.

According to a study on road mishaps, each year the country bears a loss of Rs 4 lakh crore annually due to road fatalities.

Road mishaps claim lives of nearly 76 percent of people between 18 and 45 years of age every year. Around 41% bikers die every year in Odisha due to non-use of helmets while 69% fatalities occur due to rash and speed driving, a data quoted by a report said.