The Safe Kerala Project being spearheaded by the Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA) and the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has been revamped, with renewed emphasis on rule enforcement and accident-mitigation measures, instead of on the quantum of fines imposed on erring motorists.
This follows an assessment that the emphasis on fine alone would not bring down the number of accidents. The emphasis would henceforth shift to rule-enforcement measures in accident-prone black spots that abound on roads in the State. Recently, A.M. Sapre, Chairman of Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCoRS), had sought measures to prevent accidents caused by potholes, ill-maintained vehicles, drunk and dangerous driving, dangerous overtaking, driving on the wrong side and use of cell phone while driving, following a review of the road-safety situation in Kerala.
Stating that 71% of accidents can be averted if enforcement agencies took proactive measures against grave road-safety violations, he directed agencies in charge of enforcement and road upkeep to step up enforcement and to produce result-oriented output. He sought a 25% reduction in fatalities in 2022, vis-a-vis 2019.
