State adopts four-fold strategy to make roads safer: CM

Bhubaneswar, Sep 30: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said that road safety is a high-priority area for the government. He said this at SAFE Convention organised by ‘Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers’ (SIAM) at hotel Swosti. “We have adopted a four-fold strategy to make our roads safer - by enforcement, education improvement in road engineering and emergency care,” he added. The Chief Minister inaugurated an exhibition of new safe technologies for automobiles. Highlighting state’s performance in road safety initiatives, he said that Odisha has scored 66 percent and categorized as ‘high performer’ in implementing road safety measures during audit conducted by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety. He further said that the Supreme Court Committee has also rated some of our initiatives as best practices and suggested recommendation to neighbouring states. “Our Government has started a Reward Scheme for the people who help road accident victims.  I am happy to share that more and more people are coming forward to help the road accident victims,” he added. He thanked the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers for organizing this event in collaboration with state transport department. The convention will be a great occasion to address issues of road safety, environmental concerns and sharing solutions, he added. He said focussing of safety technologies, with changing trends in the mobility sector, new technologies are being introduced for better and safer driving experiences. It would be indeed a great experience here to know about new technologies behind safer and high-performing vehicles, he added. Saying that road accidents are a serious cause of concern, he said many people lose their lives in road accidents across the country, including our state, every year.  This has a serious impact on families and our economy, he expressed concern. He appreciated SIAM for extending responsibility beyond vehicular engineering. It has been at the forefront in driver training programmes and health check-up drives for commercial drivers, he added.  He expressed hope that the automobile manufacturers would continue to partner in our initiatives to make our roads safer and better. Speaking on the occasion, Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu said that as many as 7 lakh new vehicles are being registered in state every year. They are contributing immensely to our economy. But for increasing accidents, these growth is undermined. She expressed hope that automobile manufacturers will bring in new and safe technology to help make the roads safer for people. Among others, President & CEO of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Atsushi Ogata, President SIAM Vinod Aggarwal, Global Head of Tata Motors Sushant Naik, President of Ashok Leyland Dr N. Saravanan also spoke.