Andhra Pradesh to have rest areas for drivers on National Highways

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh would soon have resting areas with all amenities for drivers at every 100 km on National Highways in the state. The resting zones for drivers would have parking spaces, lounges, commercial complexes and toilets, allowing drivers to rest for some time, an official statement said.

This is one of the many initiatives the government is taking up to bring down the number of accidents in the state, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said yesterday during a meeting with Road Safety Council here. For the Road Safety Fund, the government would sanction Rs 10 crore, he said.

The Chief Minister also suggested forming a committee that would exclusively analyse the accidents in the state and submit a monthly report, linking it to the type of vehicle, type of road, reasons behind the accident and stating reasons on how each mishap could have been avoided.

According to officials, 78.43 per cent of accidents happen due to drivers' fault. Of the total accidents, 74 per cent happen due to drunk driving and over-speeding, they said. As an immediate step towards bringing down accident rate by 30 per cent, the Chief Minister suggested improving signages, identifying blind spots and correcting them as well as improving markings on the roads.

In addition, Naidu suggested decreasing or partial removal of boards of wine/liquor shops on highways.

"This will decrease the visibility of wine shops and reduce the number of drunk driving cases/accidents," he said.

He suggested the Road Safety Council to hold workshops in educational institutions and other programmes on following traffic rules and educating them on signages. Meanwhile, the government has also taken a decision to standardise specifications of helmets in order to bring down manufacturing of these fake head safety gears.

It has also permitted bike showrooms to sell helmets if they meet the government specifications. Though the government has made helmets compulsory from August 1, it is giving three months time so that fake helmets are eliminated from market and the rule is strictly implemented from November 1, 2015.

Given that 43 per cent of accidents happen on other roads while 23 per cent on State Highways and 33 per cent on National Highways, the CM asked the Council to ensure that roads connecting National Highways are not joined directly.

Naidu asked health department to declare all nursing homes and private hospitals too as trauma centres, so that those in need of treatment can seek immediate help there. On the other hand, to ensure pedestrian safety, he directed the Council to prepare a plan to create pedestrian paths in cities and towns.

The Chief Minister asked officials to prepare action plan on bringing down accidents in the state to a level meeting international standards and also hire consultants and involve various stakeholders like engineering colleges and experts.