BHUBANESWAR: With Odisha registering 7.6 per cent (pc) rise in road fatalities in 2022 as compared to 2021, and the first three months of the current year reporting over 20 pc growth, the state government has decided to start stringent enforcement of traffic laws and observe zero fatality week again this year.
At a recent high-level meeting chaired by principal secretary of Commerce and Transport department Usha Padhee, it has been decided to enforce helmet law and initiate measures to curb over-speeding immediately.
Since the November to February period is highly sensitive because of the picnic and marriage season besides dense fog during night hours, Padhee underlined that there is a need to focus on safety activities in collaboration with various departments during next four months.
As decided, zero fatality week will be observed from December 1 to 7. The state government has adopted a 4E strategy - education, engineering, enforcement and emergency care to ensure zero death during the week.
Padhi has asked the Transport Commissioner to prepare an implementable action plan for observance of the zero fatality week as well as plan for road safety initiatives for the November to February period and submit the proposal within seven days.
“After the zero fatality week initiative in April this year, there has been a consistent decrease in fatalities from April to August as compared to the same period of previous year. The departments need to take all possible measures to achieve zero casualty during the week,” she said.
The state had reported 5,467 road fatalities in 11,663 road accidents in 2022 as against 5,081 deaths in 10,983 accidents in 2021. Over-speeding caused the highest 3,675 deaths last year. There was also 31.42 pc growth in road death in February, followed by 18.18 pc in January and 3.78 pc in March.