Nagpur: In a virtual meeting organized by JP Research in Nagpur on Wednesday, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, outlined his unwavering commitment to transforming Nagpur into an accident-free zone.
The meeting, part of the Road Accident Sampling System India (RASSI) consortium, witnessed Gadkari acknowledging the collaborative efforts of key stakeholders in the region, including the District Collector, Police Commissioner, and Rural SP, in identifying accident-prone areas.
Gadkari stressed the pivotal role of citizens in the road safety ecosystem, noting that, often, people “neither respect nor fear the law.” He emphasized the need for a collective effort to address this issue and create a safer environment for all road users.
One of the significant steps mentioned by Gadkari involves urging the District Collector, Vipin Itankar, to allocate funds from the District Planning and Development Committee for the identification of black spots. As per the Ministry for Road Transport and Highways, a black spot is a road stretch of approximately 500 meters that meets specific accident criteria, resulting in either five accidents causing serious injuries or deaths or 10 fatalities over the past three years.
Sharing a personal anecdote about a past accident, Gadkari highlighted the collaborative initiatives being undertaken by the District Collector, Police Commissioner, SP Rural, and the NGO Save Life Foundation to enhance road safety. He specifically referred to a report submitted by JP Research to the Ministry for Road Transport and Highways, containing Nagpur-specific accident data and investigations.
Gadkari underscored the establishment of an Accident Resolution Committee in every district under the local MP’s purview. The committee will play a crucial role in implementing preventive measures based on the findings of the report, which includes insights from 550 crash investigations in both urban and rural areas.
Regarding the recommendations concerning Mouda Bypass, Nagpur-Umred Bypass, and black spot studies, Gadkari mentioned that they have been endorsed by NHAI and PWD. Although the report has not been made public, JPR’s CEO Pradeep Jaswani clarified that it is submitted exclusively to the authorities. Gadkari noted that the report on the Bhamni and Mhalgi Nagar intersection is still under review.
The meeting saw participation from law enforcement and transport department officials nationwide, as well as executives from the automotive industry. The agenda focused on road safety and research-driven solutions.
JPR President Jeya Padmanaban delivered the inaugural speech. Reji Mathai, Director of the Automotive Research Association of India, underscored the role of forums like RASSI in advancing road safety.
The District Collector Dr Vipin Itankar said “The Government has made available strong infrastructure facilities to Nagpur district. Let us all join hands and take measures at accident-prone spots and make Nagpur accident-free district.,”
Dr Itankar was addressing a review meeting on road safety held at the Collector office. Harssh Poddar, Superintendent of Police (Nagpur Rural); Yashwant Solanke, Superintendent of Police (Highway); senior officers of Public Works Department, Highway Police, and other enforcement agencies attended the meeting.
During the meeting, Dr Itankar took stock of various reasons behind road accidents. He also took stock of the time-window during which maximum accidents occurred. Two-wheeler riders not wearing helmet, four-wheeler drivers not using seat belt, dangerously overtaking another vehicle/lane cutting, carrying too many passengers in a four-wheeler or carrying more number of people than capacity, not having proper driving training or insufficient knowledge of traffic rules, excessive stress on drivers, fatigue, and haphazard parking of vehicles along the road, and such are the reasons behind accident or contributing to damage caused in accident.
Accidents occur also due to fog or heavy rain, bursting of tyres due to extreme heat, animals on road, pedestrians’ mistakes, landslides, traffic jams etc. Always use seat belts, follow lane discipline, follow prescribed speed limit, assist vehicles stranded on highways, be alert while driving, check if front and rear lights and parking lights are working while driving at night, Dr Itankar appealed to the people.
