New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has issued directions for the reconstitution of district road safety committees with the mandate to carry out periodic reviews of road accidents in their respective jurisdictions.

According to officials, the reconstitution has been ordered in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

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The MoRTH and the Delhi government are putting emphasis on road safety and ascertaining the reasons behind fatal accidents. The bus lane drive being implemented by the Delhi government is also a step towards curbing road accidents, he added.

A District Road Safety Committee shall hold its meeting at least fortnightly on a virtual platform and meet physically at least once a month at a venue prescribed by the chairman, that is the district magistrate.

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The minutes of the meeting shall be made public on the district website within 48 hours of the meeting and also be uploaded on the MoRTH portal.

The committee has the district magistrate as the chairman and members including the deputy commissioner of police, chief district medical officer, executive engineers of road owning agencies, representative of MoRTH, NHAI project director, executive of municipal bodies, at least one civil society organisation working on road safety, and district transport officer.

The committee will develop a district road safety plan and ensure forensic investigation for all mass fatality crashes and optimal positioning of ambulances to help improve response time and handover time to hospitals.

It will also prepare an emergency medical plan for mass fatality accidents in the district as well as ensure linkage between hospitals and ambulances through setting up a prior notification system.

The committee will carry out periodic reviews of road accidents in the district and monitor the implementation of state road safety policy and the targets set under it.

It will also be tasked with implementing directions of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety and the state government as may be issued from time to time on matters of road safety.

It will also be involved in implementation of decisions of the State Road Safety Council in the district and regularly track and update the council on details of road crashes that took place in the district.

The committee will also have to publish road accident data on monthly basis on public domain on the district website portal and the MoRTH portal.

The committee will act as the nodal body for placing requirements and disbursal of road safety funds.

It will coordinate with the State Road Safety Council and provide regular inputs to it regarding recommendations on road safety measures especially with regard to identification of major accident-prone areas/black spots, etc. and also in areas regarding the importance of 4Es -- engineering, education, enforcement and emergency. It will also be tasked with encouraging Good Samaritans to assist road accident victims.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)