This state plans road safety education as part of school curriculum

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the Rajasthan government will formulate an action plan to reduce the number of deaths in road accidents by at least 50 per cent and mandatorily include road safety education in the school curriculum.

Addressing a group in Bhilwara through video conference, Gehlot said a meeting of all departments concerned would be called soon regarding the plan, according to an official statement.

Gehlot said the government will make efforts to set a target to reduce by half the number of deaths due to road accidents in the state in a year. He directed the officials to convene a high-level meeting on road safety soon.

The chief minister said the condition of roads in the state has improved but accidents have also increased due to vehicles travelling at high speeds on them.

In such a situation, police and other related departments including transport should carry out a massive awareness campaign on road safety. For this, seminars and other activities related to road safety should be organised in the districts with the help of voluntary organisations, he said.

The chief minister also stressed on opening good driving institutes at divisional and district headquarters. He said that two-wheeler riders are victims of premature death in road accidents. If they drive a vehicle wearing a helmet, the impact of the accident can be reduced to a great extent, Gehlot said.

Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said the state government intends to implement the Motor Vehicles Act-2019 in the state to save lives. The government has fixed the penalty amount on rational basis keeping public interest in mind, the minister said.

Bhilwara District Milk Producers Cooperative Association president and MLA Ramlal Jat, who also participated in the video conference, said around 3,000 milk producers have been given road safety training by Bhilwara Dairy.

Helmets will be distributed by Bhilwara Dairy to 15,000 cattle rearers, according to the statement.