Image used for representational purpose
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for a safe road culture to prevent accidents and casualties. He was speaking after inaugurating the valedictory of National Road Safety Week observance here on Monday.The state is headed to a situation in which vehicles outnumber people, Pinarayi said. “Quite often, people fail to observe traffic rules. Systems based on modern technologies will be put in place to monitor accidents and traffic violations,” he said.
People behind the wheels should always be vigilant. Reckless driving was pointed out to be the reason behind several fatal accidents in the state. Mobile phone use while driving is another cause for accidents.
The chief minister called for precautionary measures in vehicles to minimise casualties in case of accidents. Not just the driver, all passengers should wear seatbelt. The rule mandating helmet is not to put the public in difficulty but to save their lives.
The chief minister said that maximum number of accidents victims were youngsters. “Several youths lost their lives by driving high speed vehicles,” he said. He also called for more coordinated efforts in accident prone areas.Transport Minister A K Saseendran, who presided over the function, said more lives were lost in accidents than big wars. “As per the MVD data, 4,000 of the total 45,000 accident victims succumb to their injuries. Of them 75 percent are youths,” he said.
Motor Vehicles Department is taking several steps to prevent accidents and minimise casualties. The department is headed for a modernisation drive to make the preventive steps more effective. Special effort will be taken to reduce accidents in the 275 black spots identified by the NATPAC. K Mualeedharan MLA delivered the keynote address. He also read out the road safety pledge. Transport Commissioner K Padmakumar and Road Safety Commissioner Nitin Agrawal spoke.
