Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Monday that steps had been taken to reduce road accidents in Kerala by half this year and the goal should be to eliminate road accidents altogether.
He was speaking after inaugurating the National Road Safety Week and flagging off 17 interceptor vehicles.
The authorities concerned should create awareness, carry out stringent checks and adopt suitable measures to achieve the goal.
The issue of road accidents was discussed at a meeting of District Collectors and District Police Chiefs. The necessary steps had been taken in this regard. “Districts must work to reduce road accidents by half,” he said.
A lot of lives were lost on the road each year, and on an average, more than 4,000 people died in road accidents in Kerala every year, the Chief Minister said.
Mr. Vijayan said that accidents happened owing to various factors.
But when studying the nature of accidents, it was observed that most such incidents were avoidable. This was where the authorities needed to intervene to avert such tragedies.
He attributed drunk driving, overspeeding, especially by youngsters, and prolonged travel in a sleep-deprived state, as the reason for the increasing number of accidents. Similarly, there were many roads that posed a risk to motorists. Precise raods marking had been done and vigilance stepped up in many places. It should be done in a more scientific and transparent way, he said.
The Chief Minister appealed to the people to extend their cooperation in this task. It was when the people failed to cooperate that drastic measures had to be taken.
Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran presided over the function. Port and Archaeology Minister Ramachandran Kadannappally delivered the keynote address.
Mayor Suma Balakrishnan; District Panchayat President K.V. Sumesh; District Collector T.V. Subhash; District Police Chief Yatish Chandra; and Road Safety Commissioner N. Shankar Reddy were present.
In Kozhikode
Kozhikode District Panchayat President Babu Parasseri has urged the public to cultivate a better road traffic culture in order to reduce accidents. He was speaking after opening the 31st Road Safety Week observance in the district on Monday. District Collector S.Sambasiva Rao presided over the event and administered the road safety pledge.
“Change through the youth”, is the theme of the observance this year. The District Collector called upon the youth to use their capabilities to prevent road accidents.
Medical camp
A medical camp and awareness programme on organ donation will be held at 8 a.m. at Chevayur as part of the observance. Cartoon hoardings prepared by the Motor Vehicles Department will be set up along the roads.
Friendly vehicle checking in association with the police department, a vehicle rally to propagate the messages of road safety, besides seminars and competitions to create awareness among public, are also part of the observance that concludes on Friday.
