Lok Sabha Question No. 726 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-21
Subject: Identification of Accident-Prone NHs
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Jual Oram, Bache Gowda B.N.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 726

ANSWERED ON 21 ST   NOVEMBER, 2019

## IDENTIFICATION OF ACCIDENT-PRONE NHS

## 726. SHRI  JUAL ORAM: SHRI B.N. BACHE GOWDA:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  identified  the  accident-prone  National  Highways  (NHs)  in different States in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number of such accident-prone NHs in Odisha;
- (c) the reasons therefor and the total death toll on each of such NHs during the last year;
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to make such NH safe;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to identify accident-prone roads/ areas/black spots in the country and if so, the details and the present status thereof; and
- (f) whether  the  World  Bank  has  agreed  to  provide  assistance  for  the  purpose  and  if  so,  the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

(a) &  (b) Ministry  has  been  making  concerted  efforts  towards  improvement  of  road  safety through engineering measures on National Highways. 789 black spots have been identified and notified with unique ID numbers assigned to each of the spots. Guidelines have been prepared and notified for investigation and rectification of the road accident black spots on National highways. So far 395 black spots have been rectified. Out of these black spots, 510 black spots are under the jurisdiction of NHAI, 150 black spots are under the jurisdiction of State PWD (NH) and remaining 129 black spots are under State Government. Out of 510 black spots under NHAI, 276 have been rectified.  Out  of  150  black  spots  under  the  jurisdiction  of  PWD  (NH),  119  have  already  been rectified. State-wise break-up of the same is given at Annexure-I. Out of these 789, a total number of 12 Black Spots are in Odisha. Out of 12 Black Spots 4 have been rectified.

(c)      Sir,  there  are  many  reasons  for  accidents  on  the  National  Highways  i.e.    Weather  condition, Animal  Crossing,  Defect  in  Mechanical  condition  of  Motor  Vehicle,  Physical  fatigue  of  Drivers,

Driving  under  influence  of  drug/alcohol,    Over  speeding  Dangerous  driving,      Over-taking    and Careless/Rash driving etc.

As per information received from police department of all States/UTs, t he total number of road accidents and persons killed on National Highways in the country for the calendar years i.e 2016 to 2018 is given in the table below:-

|   Years | Total Number of persons killed on National Highways/Expressway in the country   |
|---------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    2016 | 52,075                                                                          |
|    2017 | 53,181                                                                          |
|    2018 | 54,046                                                                          |

(d) The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken a number of steps for reduction in road accidents as per details mentioned under:-

- (i) Government has launched a mobile app for highway users i.e. 'Sukhad Yatra 1033' which enables  highways  users  to  report  potholes  and  other  safety  hazards  on  National  Highways including accidents.
- (ii)       Rectification of identified Black spots.
- (iii)      Road  Safety  Audits  are  being  carried  out  at  all  stages  of  development  of  the  highway  i.e. design / construction / operation stages.
- (iv)     Facilities such as Foot Over bridges & under passes are being provided wherever required for safe crossing of pedestrians and other road users.
- (v)      Road  Safety  Week  is  observed  every  calendar  year  for  spreading  awareness  about  safer behavior of road users on National Highways.
- (vi)   The Government has approved a National Road Safety Policy.  This Policy outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws.
- (vii) The Ministry has constituted Group of Ministers of State Transport Ministers to examine the best  practices  of  Transport  and  suggest  issues  to  improve  road  safety.  Based  on  the recommendation  of  Group  of  Ministers, the Ministry introduced and  Motor  Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament which includes entire gamut of road safety.
- (viii) The  Ministry  has  formulated  a  multi-pronged  strategy  to  address  the  issue  of  road  safety based on 4 'E's viz. Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care.
- (ix) Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at planning stage.
- (x) The threshold for four laning of national highway has been reduced from 15,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) to 10,000 PCUs. About 52,000 Km of stretches of State Highways has been identified for conversion to national highways.
- (xi) Setting up of model driving training institutes in States and refresher training to drivers of Heavy Motor Vehicle in the unorganized sector.
- (xii) Advocacy/Publicity campaign on road safety through the electronic and print media.
- (xiii) Tightening of safety standards for vehicles like Seat Belts, anti-lock braking system etc.
- (xiv) High priority  has  been  accorded  to  identification  and  rectification  of  black  spots  (accident prone spots) on national highways.
- (xv) Ministry has delegated powers to Regional Officers of MORTH for technical approval to the detailed estimates for rectification of identified Road Accident black spots for expediting the rectification process to ensure safety of road users.
- (xvi) Ministry  had  issued  guidelines  vide  O.M.  dated  14.1.2016  for  taking  up  of  Road  Safety Audits  on  National  Highways  either  as  part  of  EPC/BOT  projects  or  as  stand-alone  Road Safety Audits.
- (xvii) Guidelines for pedestrian facilities on National Highways for persons with disabilities have also been issued to all States / UTs.
- (xviii) A Certification Course for Road Safety Auditors has been commenced in Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) and 42 Auditors are certified.
- (xix) Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has constituted a District Road Safety Committee in each district of the country to promote awareness amongst road users under the chairmanship of Hon'ble Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from the district.
- (xx) Free Eye Check-up Camp and distribution of eye glasses is conducted for truck/bus drivers operating on NH.
- (xxi) Capacity building through training of NHAI field staff/ Concessionaires/Contractors/Consultants engaged in NHAI project works throughout India.
- (xxii) Facilities  such as Foot  Over bridges  & underpasses are being provided wherever required, for safe crossing of pedestrians and other road users.
- (xxiii) Removal of Liquor Shops as per directions of Hon'ble Supreme Court vide circular of F. No. RW/NH-33044/309/2016/S&R dated 06-04-2017 and 01-06-2017.

(e) Detailed  guidelines  for  taking  up  road  safety  audits  on  National  Highways  have  been prepared and notified. Road Safety Audits have been made part and parcel of all National Highways development projects on EPC/BOT modes. Ministry has issued circular which makes it mandatory to carry out road safety audit for all new road projects having length of 5 km or more at the stage of Detail Project Report (DPR)/Engineering Design. Ministry has taken up installation of crash barriers in  hilly  terrain  on  National  Highways  in  predominantly  hilly  states  at  accident  prone  locations. Ministry advocates use of Traffic calming measure at accident prone areas. Indian Road Congress has published IRC 99: Guidelines for traffic calming measures. Ministry has also issued consolidated guidelines/directions  regarding  rectification  of  Accident  Black  Spots  vide  circular  no.  RW/NH29011/01/2019-S&R (P&B) dated 26.08.2019.

(f) The  Ministry  has  decided  to  take  up  a  project  i.e.  'Integrated  Road  Accident  Database (IRAD)' with funding from World Bank. The main objective of this project is on-site collection of accident data through app-based software and analyse data for identification of black spots and other accident prone areas so as to help in preparation of comprehensive policy and take suitable steps to reduce road accidents on National Highways in the country.

ANNEXER REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 726 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 st  November, 2019 ASKED BY SHRI  JUAL ORAM: SHRI B.N. BACHE GOWDA  REGARDING  'IDENTIFICATION OF ACCIDENT-PRONE NHS'.

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## DETAILS OFBLACK SPOTS

| S.No   | States/UTs        |   Total nos. of black spot | Under Jurisdiction of PWD   |   Already Rectified |   Under Jurisdiction of NHAI |   Already Rectified |
|--------|-------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------|------------------------------|---------------------|
| 1.     | Andhra Pradesh    |                          9 | 0                           |                   0 |                            9 |                   4 |
| 2.     | Arunachal Pradesh |                          1 | 0                           |                   0 |                            0 |                   0 |
| 3.     | Bihar             |                         25 | 5                           |                   5 |                           19 |                  15 |
| 4.     | Chhattisgarh      |                         30 | 15                          |                  15 |                           15 |                  11 |
| 5.     | Delhi             |                         13 | 0                           |                   0 |                            2 |                   1 |
| 6.     | Gujarat           |                         26 | 0                           |                   0 |                           25 |                  15 |
| 7.     | Himachal Pradesh  |                          5 | 3                           |                   3 |                            0 |                   0 |
| 8.     | Haryana           |                         38 | 0                           |                   0 |                           36 |                  18 |
| 9.     | Jharkhand         |                         26 | 6                           |                   6 |                           16 |                   4 |
| 10.    | Jammu &Kashmir    |                          9 | 0                           |                   0 |                            5 |                   3 |
| 11.    | Karnataka         |                         86 | 12                          |                  12 |                           38 |                  26 |
| 12.    | Kerala            |                         33 | 19                          |                   4 |                           14 |                  12 |
| 13.    | Maharashtra       |                         35 | 3                           |                   3 |                           26 |                  11 |
| 14.    | Meghalaya         |                          8 | 5                           |                   5 |                            3 |                   2 |
| 15.    | Madhya Pradesh    |                         54 | 12*                         |                   5 |                           35 |                  27 |
| 16.    | Mizoram           |                          1 | 0                           |                   0 |                            0 |                   0 |
| 17.    | Nagaland          |                          3 | 3                           |                   2 |                            0 |                   0 |
| 18.    | Odisha            |                         12 | 0                           |                   0 |                           12 |                   4 |
| 19.    | Rajasthan         |                         61 | 13                          |                  10 |                           40 |                  33 |
| 20.    | Telangana         |                         76 | 26                          |                  23 |                           45 |                  24 |
| 21.    | Tamil Nadu        |                        102 | 18                          |                  18 |                           78 |                  17 |
| 22.    | Uttar Pradesh     |                        104 | 6                           |                   5 |                           68 |                  44 |
| 23.    | West Bengal       |                         32 | 4                           |                   3 |                           24 |                   5 |
|        | Total             |                        789 | 150                         |                 119 |                          510 |                 276 |

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