NEW DELHI: To reduce road accidents, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday pitched for fixed driving hours for commercial truck drivers similar to that of pilots, as well as on-board sleep detection sensors in commercial vehicles.
In a series of tweets, the road transport and highways minister said driving hours for truck drivers should be fixed similar to pilots' to reduce fatigue-induced road accidents.
"Have directed officers to work on a policy to include On-Board Sleep Detection Sensors in Commercial Vehicles, at par with European standards," he said in a tweet.
The minister said he will also write letters to chief ministers and district collectors to ensure that district road committee meetings are held regularly.
Earlier on Tuesday, Gadkari attended the introductory meeting of new members nominated to the National Road Safety Council (NRSC). The minister also said he has now directed the council to meet every two months and share their updates.
According to an official statement, during the meeting, the members made various important suggestions in the area of improvement of road safety.
Gadkari advised all the members to work in diversified areas of road safety so that more lives can be saved on road.
He also directed the ministry officials to work in close coordination with NRSC members and implement their suggestions on priority, the statement said.
The achievements made in the areas of road safety would be brought out through a monthly magazine, it said. The new NRSC was formed by the ministry on July 28, 2021 and the meeting was attended by all the 13 non-official co-opted individual members.
Minister of state for road transport and highways general V K Singh also attended the meeting along with senior officials of the ministry.
