BHUBANESWAR: Heavy vehicles have gained notoriety for contributing significantly to fatalities in road mishaps on roads across Odisha. As per figures, heavy vehicles’ share in road fatalities in the state remains over 12 per cent over the last couple of years.
Around 1,411 road accidents involving heavy motor vehicles were reported in the state in 2021 and 1,595 last year. The toll arising out of accidents involving heavy motor vehicles in 2021 and 2022 was 558 and 637 respectively.
Even as the figures remain a cause of worry, it has brought to fore the quality of training being imparted to drivers and if it is enough considering most training schools for heavy vehicles lack adequate infrastructure.
About 2.50 lakh heavy vehicles operate in the state which calls for quality training to arrest the increasing trend of road accidents. This is why the quality of 31 privately-run training facilities which claim to have designated tracks and other infrastructure remains a matter of debate.
At present, the state government runs two driver training institutes (at Chhatia and Bonai) in public-private partnership (PPP) mode and two more are set to be operational soon at Berhampur and Keonjhar. The institutes running in PPP mode have their own testing tracks with a capacity to train 180 to 200 trainees every month.
Transport Department sources said the government spends more than Rs 40 crore in each of its testing facilities which run in PPP mode. It also invests about Rs 25,500 towards one-month training of each driver in the institutes running in PPP mode.
But the same cannot be said of the infrastructure and training in private institutes. Good infrastructure apart, sound behavioural skill training is key because most HMV license seekers start off as helpers before graduating to be drivers.
It is important to train new drivers about basic traffic rules on parking, understanding of road signages and soft and behavioural skills to reduce the rising number of road accidents. “Do the private training institutes provide the same? Do these facilities even have the right training facilities?” asked an expert.
A drive to verify the facilities at the private institutes has now been launched and if gaps are noticed, their license will be cancelled, PK Mohanty, director Driver Training Institute said.
Besides, there exists huge gap in test facilities for securing an HMV license. All the 38 RTOs/additional RTOs in the state have their own testing tracks. However, only 19 of them are fit to be upgraded and equipped with automated driving testing system. This means much of the license issue currently depends on the RTOs officials where human judgement comes into play
Worrying facts
1,411 road accidents involving HMVs reported in state in 2021
1,595 mishaps reported last year
Share of HMVs in road fatalities remains over 12 pc
Govt spends over Rs 40 crore in each of its testing facilities which run in PPP mode