Chandigarh: With a view to reduce road accidents and accidental death rate in the state, Punjab Transport Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar, on Friday, launched the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) project in the state, thus making Punjab the first state in the country to initiate ultra-modern technology equipped with GIS maps for reducing road accidents to the minimum level, improving road designs and identifying accidental black spots.
After inaugurating intra-departmental mobile application based project related to the Public Works Department (B&R), National Highways, Health and Family Welfare, National Highways Authority of India and Punjab Mandi Board during the brief function held at Punjab Bhawan here, Transport Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar said, each day 10-12 road accident fatalities are being reported in Punjab, which is more than the National average of 8-9 deaths per day, adding that each life is precious for us and the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led government is committed for reducing road mortality to the minimum level.
S. Bhullar said that seven major states – Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan started using iRAD projects and the Punjab is first amongst all and in the country, which launched iRAD after integrating it with GIS maps with Police Station boundaries. The Transport Minister said that the main objective of this project was to create an Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) for compiling accident databases from the states and every part of the country.
The project will implement data analysis techniques and analyze road accident statistics collected across the country and make various suggestions. On this occasion, Principal Secretary Transport Mr. K. Siva Prasad, Director General Lead Agency Mr. R. Venkat Ratnam and ADGP (Traffic) Mr. A.S. Rai and other officers were present.
SPEED LIMIT OF 25 KMPH FOR ALL VEHICLES FIXED AROUND SCHOOLS IN PUNJAB
Meanwhile, the Transport Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar said that for the first time, the Punjab Government has fixed maximum speed limit for all vehicles around and in front of schools to ensure the safety of the students of the state. He said that all the vehicles would have to abide by the maximum speed limit of 25 kmph around the schools for which a notification has already been issued.
S. Bhullar also directed the traffic police officers to ensure that the drivers must adhere to the guidelines while controlling traffic. He also appealed to the people that school buses are given priority in foreign countries. “If we want to be on par with foreign countries then we also have to fulfill our responsibility and restrict to the prescribed speed limit while students cross the road and near the school buses or stop our vehicle for their safe passage”, he added.
HOW iRAD PROJECT WILL WORK?
The Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) system starts with mobile application, which will enable police personnel to enter details about 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 or the Local Body will receive an alert on his mobile device. The Engineer will then visit the accident site, examine it, and feed the required details, such as the road design.
Data, thus collected will be analysed by a team at IIT-Madras, which will then suggest if corrective measures in road design need to be taken. The iRAD has integration with National Digital Vehicle Registry “VAAHAN” and driver database “SAARTHI” along with its integration with Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) used by the Punjab Police. Notably, the state of Punjab has completed its training for all the nodal officers primarily from Police, PWD, Health and Transport Department.
As many as 310 investigating officers at Police station level have been imparted the training in first phase of iRAD implementation. On March 30 2022, Dr. Venkatesh Balasubramanian, Professor from IIT Madras visited Punjab to review the progress of iRAD and expressed his contentment over the advance progress and institutional arrangements made by the state for the iRAD implementation. The iRAD Project is an initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and is funded by World Bank, with an objective to improve road safety in the country.
The project would generate various types of insights by analysing the collected road accident data across the country through implementation of data analytic techniques. The proposed system would represent the analysis output through Monitoring & Reporting Dashboard & Analytics Dashboard for easy understanding and accordingly forecasting & decision making by Apex Authorities for formulation of new policies & strategies. The outcome of the project would be, enhanced road safety, i.e. ‘Safe Road for All’ in Punjab as well India.
