Patrolling vehicles to rescue highway accident victims

 The State police will ply 30 patrolling vehicles on national and state highways to ensure timely medical aid for accident victims.

On an average 5,000 people die in the accidents on both national and state highways in the State every year. To prevent fatalities, the office of Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety (CTRS) of the State Police Department is planning to introduce the highway patrolling vehicles.

The process of tender to procure 30 patrolling vehicles is on. The vehicles, each estimated to cost Rs 13 lakh, will have all the equipment necessary to rescue accident victims, sources said.

Each patrolling vehicle will have six personnel and work round-the-clock, monitoring the national and state highways.

The vehicles will be equipped with public addressing system, emergency lights, surveillance cameras, wireless phones, tools for repairing other vehicles, first aid box, body bag and other items which are necessary to rescue the injured in an accident, in the absence of healthcare institutions or hospitals along these highways.

The department has not yet decided on giving powers to these patrolling vehicles to carry out routine checks on the vehicles plying on the highways, as the main aim of patrolling vehicles now is to rescue the victims, the sources said.

N S Meghrik, ADGP (Crime and Technical Service), said: “The patrolling vehicles will be expected to hit the road by the end of March this year. The existing 73 interceptor vehicles at present check rash and drunk-diving.”

NH-4 a death trap

When compared to the other highways in the State, the number of deaths in accidents is high on National Highway-4. Bangalore Rural, Tumkur and Belgaum districts, through which the NH-4 passes, report the highest number of fatalities on the road.

According to the CTRS statistics, in 2011, 526 people died in accidents on the highway of Bangalore district, 493 in Tumkur and 754 in Belgaum district. In 2012, 589 people died in Bangalore district, 489 in Tumkur and 721 in Belgaum district. In 2013 from January to November, Bangalore district reported 608 deaths, Tumkur-439 and  Belgaum 657.

Meghrik said, "It is a major national highway and there is a heavy flow of vehicles carrying huge cargos. Most of the vehicles plying on this particular highway come from other states which usually travel long distance. They tend to drive rashly, leading to accident."

He said: “Various programmes and projects are being planned to sensitise drivers on road use. The Karnataka State Highway Improvement Project (KSHIP) is also planning various measures to upgrade the roads."