Like food plazas, hospitals and deployment of trauma and medical staff will be mandatory on both sides of all expressways in the state. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave these instructions while chairing a meeting of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Safety Council earlier today.
In 2022, the latest year for which figures are available from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; there were 4,61,312 road accidents in the country. These left 1,68,491 dead and 4,43,366 injured.
The greatest number of these accidents happen on National Highways, including expressways. State highways come in second. The same report said that while Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents on National Highways, the number of persons killed in road accidents was the highest in Uttar Pradesh.
As per data from the state government on Sunday, in 2024 there were 46,052 road accidents in UP. This has led to 24,000 deaths and 34,600 injuries.
Terming these figures as ‘sad’, Yogi Adityanath said that these need to be minimised at all costs. All concerned departments should make collective efforts for this. The identification of black spots and fixing them should be the top priority.
He said that arrangements should be made for hospitals on both sides of all expressways. The deployment of trauma experts, ambulances and trained staff should be ensured in the hospitals of all divisional headquarters.
The maximum loss of life, in road accidents has occurred in 20 districts—Hardoi, Mathura, Agra, Lucknow, Bulandshahr, Kanpur Nagar, Prayagraj, Sitapur, Unnao, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bareilly, Aligarh, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Badaun, Meerut and Bijnor. These account for 42 per cent of the total deaths.
The CM directed that factors causing these accidents should be studied and awareness about road safety be increased among people.
The Basic Education Department, Secondary Education Department and Higher Education Department will be roped in to spread awareness by organizing various activities related to road safety in schools and colleges. Traffic rules and safety guidelines will also be added to the curriculum of the schools of Basic and Secondary Education Departments.
The CM also noted that liquor shops are often advertised with bold signage on expressways and highways. These need to be made smaller. Vehicles coming from other states without permits should be stopped at the border. Also in collaboration with the Transport Association and the Vehicle Association, it must be ensured that there are two drivers on all such vehicles which are traversing long distances.
