BHUBANESWAR: The State government has decided to train volunteers from roadside communities including eateries, small repair shops, fuel stations and police personnel as first responders to road accident victims.
They will be equipped to administer first aid and pre-hospital trauma care tot accident victims within the golden hour on National and State highways.
With road accident deaths assuming alarming proportions despite several corrective measures, the Transport department authorities hope that providing immediate treatment to mishap victims would help reduce fatalities.
State Transport Commissioner Arun Bothra said that the six-month training programme will start from November 10 and around 30,000 wayside first responders will be imparted training on first aid pre-hospital care.
"The government has sanctioned Rs 2 crore and Red Cross has been roped in for the training programme. Provisioning of first aid pre-hospital care within the golden hour as well as strengthening medical facilities will enhance the chance of survival of accident victims," he said.
As planned, roadside tea vendors and tyre puncture repairmen will be given first responder training at most venerable places on the highways. The government has also decided to erect road signages as per global standards as the signages in most of the highways in the State are wrongly placed.
Speaking at a webinar on 'Enforcement innovations for road safety' organised by India chapter of International Road Federation (IRF), Bothra said the focus is on strengthening road engineering and related agencies besides enforcing law on traffic violations.
In Odisha, about 350 black spots on National and State highways are found every year and the authorities concerned informed. Most of them are removed or rectified on pen and paper and the same black spots are spotted again next year.
"The State government has deputed a dedicated team of experts to remove the black spots. Both online and offline training have been made mandatory for obtaining a driving licence," he said.
Road fatalities in Odisha are rising even as the State has missed the deadline set by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety for reducing road deaths by 50 per cent within five years. There has been a steady rise in the number of fatalities from 3,931 in 2014 to 4,738 in 2020, an increase of about 21 per cent.
India chapter president of IRF Satish Parakh said many fatalities and serious injuries on roads could be prevented if recommended road safety actions are properly implemented. While the UN has set a global 'decade of action' plan which aims at reducing road fatalities by 50 per cent by 2030, the Indian government has initiated measures to achieve the target by 2025, he added.