The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways plans to launch a safety assessment rating for trucks and commercial vehicles on the lines of Bharat New Car Assessment Program (BNCAP) , country’s own four-wheel star rating system.

 “The idea is to encourage manufacturers to improve the production quality making vehicles more safe  . Similarly govt is already working on standards and safety assessment system for battery operated e-rikshaws in the country as they suffer from safety issues. The safety improvement in e rikshaws will improve their quality and generate more employment” said Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways while inaugurating a two day workshop on Vehicle and Fleet safety jointly organised by the New Car Assessment Program (GNCAP ) and  Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE).

“India accounts for highest number of fatal road accidents with 480,000 road crashes each year resulting in 180,000 deaths , the government’s top priority is on road safety , expansion of safe highways and vehicle safety and bolstering electric vehicles. The ministry is also working on reducing logistics cost to 9%  in next couple of years from present 14-16% as automobile industry plays a key role in India’s economic growth”, said Gadkari.

“Ministry of roadways is also working on law to determine the working hours for trick drivers at present they drive for 13-14 hours a day. As country is facing shortage of truck drivers govt also plans to set up 32 driving institutes across the country. Airconditioning of driver compartments have already been mandatory by the ministry .Advanced Driver-Assistance system (ADAS) to assist drivers has also been made mandatory“, added the minister.

“A few days back government has introduced road safety as part of school curriculum  for students of class 1-12 , the modules will be introduced in the current academic year. A song by eminent singer Shankar Mahadevan as road safety anthem will be translated in 22 languages across nation to spread awareness about road safety “ the minister added . This high-level “The Two day Workshop will review progress in vehicle safety worldwide and in India since 2000 and the priority actions needed to achieve further improvements by 2030 and beyond. In particular, the meeting will examine efforts to improve automobile safety worldwide by reviewing the progress made by the G20 major economies, including India, to implement the Global Plan vehicle safety recommendations and feature special sessions on fleet and motorcycle safety”, said Dr Rohit Baluja, President, IRTE .