BHOPAL: To bring down the number of road accidents, the transport minister has initiated ‘Vision Zero Madhya Pradesh’. The Tamil Nadu model of road safety was applauded and it was decided to implement it in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
But to implement the Tamil Nadu model in the state would be a big challenge as the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, in the state is in force, while, in Tamil Nadu, the latest Act of 2019 is in force.
The difference in the Act is related to penalty and strict traffic rules. Another difference is related to the monitoring of the accident cases. In Tamil Nadu, the director-general of police monitors accident cases daily, as he monitors murder cases in the state. But here, in Madhya Pradesh, even the police station-level staff do not pay attention to road accidents.
The additional director-general of the Police Training and Research Institute, DC Sagar, told Free Press that to stop the road accidents, there are many parameters to be followed in the state. “If the Tamil Nadu model is talked about in the nation, it’s because the police and the state government are serious about the accidents. If one doesn’t wear a helmet here in Madhya Pradesh, the fine is Rs 250 and, in Tamil Nadu, it’s Rs 1,000. In this state, commuters dare to violate helmet norms while driving,” he added.
A Bhopal road in need of urgent repairs | FPJ
Sagar added that, in the Tamil Nadu model, every superintendent of police monitors road accident cases and the inspector-general and then the DGP take cares of those accident cases. He said that the other difference in Tamil Nadu is the awareness in helping an accident victim. In various places, message are written in which it is suggested to help accident victims and no one will ask for the identity of the helping hand.
Whereas, he added, the Integrated Road Accident Data Base (IRAD) App has been uploaded on every police personnel’s mobile. He informed that it is an app in which whole information about the accidents is uploaded and the next page opens when the first page entries are completed.
An advocate practising in the High Court of Jabalpur, Alok Vaghrecha, asked to implement the recommendations of the Tamil Nadu model in Madhya Pradesh. He said that, every year, thousands of people are losing their lives because of road accidents. “Their families are destroyed, the future of children are affected and it also causes a loss to the GDP, because every bread-earner contributes to the GDP.”
Causes of road accidents...
The ADG added that the major causes of accidents are over-speeding, desperation while driving, the feeling of having a more powerful vehicle, rushing, giving vehicles to minors and few more
The ADG informed that there were four major causes of road accidents—over-speeding, bad road engineering, inappropriate median roads and violation of one-way traffic
He added that around 80% of the fatal accident happen because of over-speeding
Accident statistics
In the current year 2021, from January to May, the number of accidents has increased by 20% in comparison to the same period of 2020
In the same period, 16,373 accidents were reported around the state in 2020
But, in the year 2021, the number of accidents increased to 19,628
The number of deaths has also increased in the current year to 5,077
In the year 2020, the total number of deaths was 3,800
