Govt target to reduce accident deaths by 50% by 2030: Gadkari

Road safety: Road safety is the top-most priority of the government with a target to reduce accident deaths by 50 per cent by 2030, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari said while addressing the CII National  Conclave on Road Safety. 

Gadkari said the change in social behaviour is very important along with focusing on strengthening the ‘4Es of Road Safety’ -Engineering (Road & Vehicle Engineering) - Enforcement - Education and Emergency Medical Service. He emphasized on cooperation of all stakeholders for enhancing road safety.

The minister said as per the latest report on road accidents in 2022 there have been 4.6 lakh road accidents, 1.68 Lakh deaths, and 4 Lakh serious injuries. He said every hour there are  53 road accidents and 19 deaths 

Increase in road accident

Gadkari said there has been an increase in road accidents by 12 per cent and, an increase in Road Accidents deaths by 10 per cent resulting in a socio-economic loss of 3.14 per cent to GDP. 

He said 60 per cent of deaths are in the young age group of 18 to 35 years. He said accident Death is the loss of a bread-earner in a family, professional loss to an employer & overall loss to the economy.

Gadkari said the system of rewards for good traffic behaviour among citizens has yielded positive results in Nagpur. 

Gadkari stressed regular eye check-ups for drivers and asked the organisations to organise free camps for the same as part of their corporate social responsibility. He said education and awareness among School, colleges, Collaboration with NGOs, Start-ups, Technology Providers, IIT, Universities, and Traffic & Highway Authorities is the way forward for spreading good practices for Road Safety.