Government alone cannot make roads safe, onus on people too: Nitin Gadkari

Amid rising number of road accidents, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said “government alone cannot ensure safety on roads” and people should obey traffic rules.

“Please do not drink and drive. Obey traffic rules.  Government alone cannot ensure safety on roads, people should also do their bit...,” the Road Transport and Highways Minister said. He added that Rs 11,000 crore will be spent to rectify more than 700 accident-prone ‘black spots’ across the country.

“It extremely sad that so many innocent lives are lost everyday due to these accidents. The government is committed to bringing down the number of accidents and related fatalities and is working towards this end.

“726 black spots have been identified and work is on to rectify these. Rs 11,000 crore will be spent for this work,” he added.

Crash barriers are going to be installed in hilly terrains like Himachal Pradesh, he said, adding that a Group of Ministers is working on recommendations to make Indian roads safer. This will pave the way for introducing a new Motor Vehicles Act in Parliament soon, he said.

The minister also said that 10 per cent of the Central Road Fund (CRF) given to each state is to be used for identifying black spots on state and other highways. He called upon state governments to send proposals for the same and urged non-profit bodies to come forward in creating awareness about traffic rules.

The remarks were in the wake of four persons crushed to death by a speeding dumper in Noida on Tuesday, while two persons, including an elderly man, were killed after being knocked down by a speeding car allegedly driven by a 21-year-old student in a highly inebriated state in the national capital yesterday.

Last week, the minister released a report on road accidents in India that showed that on an average, 17 deaths occurred in 57 crashes per hour last year, with over 54 per cent of those killed being in the age group of 15-34 years.

India witnesses 5 lakh road accidents per year in which 1.5 lakh people are killed.