About a third of road accidents happening in the State were on National Highways, the Transport Commissioner said in a counter affidavit filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday.
The affidavit was filed in response to suo motu proceedings initiated by the Bench questioning the number of barricades placed on the National Highways.
The counter, which was in response to the contention that barricades led to accidents, claimed that several measures taken by the government had, in fact, brought down the number of fatal accidents between June and July this year, when compared to the same period last year. It said that Section 112 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, prescribed that no person shall drive a motor vehicle or cause or allow a motor vehicle to be driven in any pace at a speed exceeding the maximum speed or below the minimum speed fixed for the vehicle under the Act.
The State government had framed rules to prevent danger or injury to any person or property and Rule 370 (2) of the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicle Rules , 1989, gave powers to the Commissioner of Police in the city and Superintendent of Police in districts to impose speed limits, including the maximum speed, and to designate any road as main road. It claimed that barricades were provided to regulate traffic and prevent accidents.