Himachal Pradesh to launch drive to rectify black spots

SHIMLA: After the bus accident in which 44 people were killed in Banjar sub division of Kullu district on Thursday, Himachal Pradesh government has decided to launch a special campaign to identify and rectify the black spots on roads in the state to help minimize the road accidents.
It was decided that construction of new roads would be approved only after receiving the nod from the road safety auditors.While chairing a meeting of senior officers in Shimla on Friday, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said it was time to get rid of earlier procedure of identifying the black spots and a new mechanism would be implemented. He said special focus would be laid on improving rural roads that have more traffic.
The chief minister said all transport vehicles including taxis would be required to put the name and photograph of the driver on display prominently on the vehicles so that the commuters could know that the driver was well-trained and authorized to drive the vehicle. He said special awareness campaign would be launched to sensitize people regarding overspeeding, rash driving, drunken driving and use of mobile phones while driving.
He said people would be encouraged to register complaints against the erring drivers. He said 93 percent of accidents occur due to human errors, thus special care would be taken to make driving test more stringent.
He said automatic testing of the condition of vehicle would be done to ensure the presence of only good-conditioned vehicles on the road. He said driver license for heavy vehicles would be issued only after ensuring proper test of the drivers.
Thakur said installation of biometric system in driving schools would be adopted to ensure that trainees actually undergo training for the specific period. He said efforts would also be made to provide automatic driving test facilities in all the districts of the state.
He said authorities should also ensure that no overloading in transport vehicles happen. He said strict action would be taken against the violators. He said all school buses would be regularly monitored and school management should be sensitized about the safety guidelines.
The chief minister said authorities should identify the crowded stations in the state which require more transport vehicles. He said to cope with the issue of overcrowding in the buses, more permits should be issued to mini-buses, maxi-cabs and trax cars.