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Chandrababu Naidu pitches for NIRTS in Visakhapatnam

Rs 4,000 crore needed to improve road safety in AP, CM tells Gadkari pitches for set up NIRTS in Vizag.

Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said that he has requested the Union government to set up National Institute for Road Transport and Safety in Vizag besides improving and modernising driving tracks in the state. Mr Naidu on Friday met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in Vizag and discussed with him various issues related to road safety measures in the state.

The Chief Minister explained that at least Rs 4,000 crore was required for road safety in AP which has around 15,000 km of major roads. Mr Naidu said that accidents in AP have accounted for 8, 275 deaths and 29, 436 injuries in 2015. The AP government was planning to set up trauma care units at every 100 km and was looking to reduce road accidents by 50 per cent by 2025, he told the Union minister.

The Chief Minister opined that by using GPS technology, every vehicle could be tracked and its location could be known at any point of time. “The AP government is also taking tough measures towards controlling of drunken driving by using interceptors and speed guns,” the Chief Minister said, and added that data integration with toll plazas would be useful for tracking and assessing the movement of vehicles.

Telangana official suggests wayside amenities to curb accidents:

TS transport commissioner Sandeep Kumar Sultania suggested to Union minister for road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari to create wayside facilities on National Highways where drivers can take rest as this would mitigate road accidents. He said that most accidents on National Highways were a result of continuous driving, without the drivers getting enough sleep.

Mr Sultania said that studies have found that fatigue and stress caused by long hauls and driving without adequate sleep was leading to fatal road accidents in the country. In almost all the developed countries across the globe, facilities have been provided for drivers by creating recreation rooms at a distance of every 150 miles, he said. Sources said that Mr Gadkari assured Mr Sultania that he would look into the proposal and will examine the idea of setting up restrooms if the state governments come forward to provide land along the NHs.

Mr Sultania said his department had launched a new RTAM Apps which enables one to download driving licence, vehicle registration certificate and insurance certificate in digital form. So far, 13 lakh people have downloaded the app and 60 lakh have downloaded licences and registration certificates, he said.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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