Chandigarh, Apr 1 (PTI) Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Friday launched the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) project, which is aimed at reducing the number of road accidents in the state, improving road designs and identifying accidental black spots.
The minister said 10 to 12 road accident fatalities are reported in the state on a daily basis, which is higher than the national average of eight-nine deaths, adding that each life is precious and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, is committed to reducing the mortality rate due to road accidents to the minimum level.
He said seven states — Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan — have started using iRAD projects and Punjab was the first state to do so.
The iRAD project was launched in the state after integrating it with GIS maps with police station boundaries, according to an official release.
Bhullar said the main objective of the project is to create an integrated road accident database (iRAD) for compiling accident databases from every part of the country.
The project will implement data analysis techniques, analyse the road accident statistics collected from across the country and put forward various suggestions.
The iRAD system starts with a mobile application, which will enable police to enter the details of a road accident along with photos and videos, following which a unique ID will be created for the incident.
Subsequently, an engineer from the Public Works Department (PWD) or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile phone.
The engineer will visit the accident site, examine it and feed the required details such as the road design. The data, thus collected, will be analysed by a team at IIT-Madras, which will then suggest if corrective measures in the road design need to be taken.
The iRAD has been integrated with the national digital vehicle registry, “VAAHAN”, and the driver database — “SAARTHI” — along with its integration with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) used by the Punjab police.
Punjab has completed the training of all the nodal officers, primarily from the police force, the PWD and the health and transport departments. A total of 310 investigating officers at the police station level have been imparted the training in the first phase of iRAD implementation.
Meanwhile, Bhullar said the state government has fixed the maximum speed limit for all vehicles near schools at 25 kilometres per hour, for which a notification has already been issued. PTI CHS VSD RC
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Source: The Print
