Funded by the World Bank, the Cell will identify and formulate policies and legal frameworks for road safety with the help of an international team of consultants. To be set up in the Transport department, the Cell will be monitored by the Karnataka State Highway Traffic and Transport Authority (KSHTTA). A host of departments - Transport, Police, Education, Health, Public Works, etc - will have their representatives in the Cell.
“The Cell will come up with road safety activities such as ensuring that drivers wear seat belts and helmets, rectifying black spots (places of frequent accidents), improving visibility problem on a particular road, etc,” said D Vijaya Vikram, Joint Director (Enforcement) South,
Transport department.
As part of the measures to improve road safety, a feasibility study will be conducted on two highway corridors - Maddur to Mysore and Belgaum and Hungund.
K G Shantharam, Deputy Secretary, Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project, said the highway corridors - one each from North and South Karnataka - were selected on the basis of vehicle density and number of accidents. The World Bank would release $12 million for the project, over a period of five years.
“We also plan to introduce a road accident analysis system, a concept already under implementation in Kerala. It will help in tracing reasons for accidents and introduce corrective measures,” he said. The three-year pilot project will commence from the end of this year.
