By IANS,
New Delhi: Around 200 officials from various government departments are all set to make the country’s roads and highways safer and driver-friendly, the NGO that trained them said Sunday.
The International Road Federation (IRF), in association with the Australian Road Research Board (AARB), trained employees from state transport authorities, public works department and road and highway authorities for a year, said K.K. Kapila, chairman of the IRF
“As per the road safety manual by the Indian Road Congress (IRC), experts have to carry safety audit not just during the design and implementation phases of the projects but also in the post-operation period to identify deficiencies and rectify them,” he said.
According to Kapila, road safety audits were made mandatory by the road transport and highways departmentin 2010 but due to lack of trained auditors, the scheme could not be implemented effectively.
“The personnel trained in various certification courses for road safety auditors now need to be used by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to conduct its road safety audit,” Kapila added.
According to IRF, regular road safety audits are the only way to curb the growing number of road accidents in the country.