New initiative promises to make city roads safer

A road safety initiative to identify crash-prone places in the city and reduce fatalities through sustained intervention was launched on Friday.

The initiative — Safer Roads Bengaluru — was launched across the country by AXA. In the city, the organisation is partnering with the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) and Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru (IPH).

Transport secretary B Basavaraaju inaugurated the event. According to a release, about 1.5 lakh Indians die in road accidents each year and five lakh sustain serious injuries.

Karnataka, with a population of 6.1 crore, comes third in the list of road injuries and fifth in traffic deaths in the country.

IPH director Dr N Devadasan said road accidents are a grave health concern since it is the major cause of death among people in the 15-29 age group.

"Karnataka and Bengaluru report many crashes, resulting in death or disability each year. We'll conduct a detailed study of the roads in Bengaluru as part of this initiative and work with the best practices in one or two stretches to make them safer," Dr Devadasan said.