Odisha categorised as ‘high performer’ in SC committee report on road safety

Cuttack: Odisha has found a place in ‘high performers’ category in a Supreme Court committee report on road safety implementation, informed the State Transport Authority in a press release here.

The Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCRS) had initiated a detailed study to assess implementation status of road safety directions issued to all states following which a team of consultants engaged by the SCCRS had visited Odisha for 15 days in June. They had assessed the  quality and extent of actions taken by the State government and as per the compliance report shared with the Transport department, Odisha scored 66 per cent and was categorised as a ‘high performer’ in implementation of various road safety measures.

The release stated that the team praised helmet compliance in the Capital apart from the smart queue system implemented at the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in the city which was attributed to complementing infrastructure. However, there are areas which need improvement despite the overall good performance. Special focus on law enforcement and availability of equipment and infrastructure would also determine on-ground effectiveness, the report had stated.

In the institutional category, which includes functioning of Lead Agency and utilisation of Road Safety Fund, Odisha scored 19 per cent out of 25 per cent. The State score was 15.7 per cent for enforcement, 14.4 per cent for engineering, 10.5 per cent for emergency care and 6.3 per cent for education.

According to the release, the team during field visit observed that various activities adopted by Odisha can be considered as best practices and also be recommended to other states. These include Project Rakshak (training of first responders for immediate assistance to road accident victims), Project Vahak (training of Heavy Motor Vehicle drivers in State), National Road Safety Short Film Festival, helmet compliance and driver behaviour in Bhubaneswar, the Driver Training Institute at Chhatia, Smart Queue System at Bhubaneswar RTO and the Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) project in Sundargarh district.

The STO also shared that as per Supreme Court Committee guidelines, the department is working towards construction of Truck Terminals and comprehensive Trauma System Care Plan. Road safety training is being provided engineers, commercial drivers, traffic police personnel, highway engineers and planners through a systematic manner and well-planned training calender. The command and control centre will be functional soon and footage continuously monitored to issue e-challan to traffic violators. Frequency of enforcement drives has been increased to reduce road accidents in the State, the release stated.