India, July 21: Parliamentary Standing Committee on transport, tourism and culture have proposed on installing CCTV cameras at accident-prone sites, charging hefty penalties on overloaded vehicles and cattle owners and strays who disturb the travel on National Highways (NHs).

According to official data, National Highways constitute less than 3% of the total road network. Of the country’s total road network, almost 40% is unpaved. Some of the notable recommendations laid by the committee were stated in the New Indian Expressed report. Mumbai Traffic Update: Congestion Expected on Western Express Highway at Santacruz.

Recommendations To Ensure Safer Highways:

  • Install streetlights on the entire NH network “since poor lighting conditions lead to severe accidents

  • Action/penalty on cattle or animal-rearers for letting out their animals on NHs.

  • Hefty fines on consignor and consignee for vehicles not abiding by the weight carrying limits

  • Food joints, restrooms, toilets and other amenities alongside NHs to reduce the menace of illegal parking and to avoid accidents

  • Provisions to charge toll tax on the basis of weight of the vehicles instead of axle-based toll collection

  • Priority to maintenance and repair of NHs with substantially higher budgetary allocation

It can be learned that the panel suggested the installation of CCTV cameras at every few kilometres to allow round-the-clock ground-level monitoring. The device could also prove beneficial to track traffic movements, accidents post the construction project progress.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 21, 2022 11:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).