Union Minister for Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday said that safety audits have been mandated at all stages of road development to reduce accidents.
Inaugurating a virtual symposium on vehicle crash safety, he said, "India and other developing countries are witnessing a very high rate of road accidents and around 1.5 lakh people are killed every year which is even higher than the COVID deaths."
The Minister said that his vision is to achieve 50 per cent reduction in road accident deaths; and zero accidents and deaths by 2030. Mr Gadkari said, "About 60 per cent deaths are of two-wheeler riders."
He said the protection and safety of motorcycle traffic is the need of the hour. He said in the global scenario vehicle engineering technology has matured to a great extent and all road engineering measures will improve the chances of fatal vehicle crashes at least during the accident event.
The minister stressed on the importance of training drivers and the establishment of advanced training institutes and centres.
Mr Gadkari said that it was his moral responsibility to make good roads and improve road infrastructure. He said cooperation, communication and coordination among all stakeholders is essential to create awareness and achieve our goals.
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