Reforming Road Safety: Gadkari Calls for Accountability and Innovation

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari advocates for holding road contractors and engineers accountable for faulty road construction, proposing it as a non-bailable offense. With India's high accident rates, he emphasizes improving road safety through various measures and initiatives, aiming to reduce road accident fatalities by 2030.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has proposed making faulty road construction a non-bailable offense, holding contractors, and engineers accountable for accidents. Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry, he highlighted India's top position in global road accidents.

Gadkari reported ministry data showing five lakh road mishaps in 2023, resulting in 1,72,000 deaths, with young adults and children badly impacted. As part of road safety reforms, the highways ministry is allocating Rs 40,000 crore to address black spots on highways, urging stakeholder partnerships for setting driver training centers.

The minister also called for fitting Indian trucks with driver fatigue detection devices and involved students in road safety advocacy. Further reforms include incentivizing safe drivers and fostering collaborations to promote a road safety culture.

(With inputs from agencies.)