PANAJI: Conceding that Goa’s motor accident rate is quite high in comparison to the State’s population, Director General of Police (DGP) Jaspal Singh has mulled a host of measures including strict enforcement of the Motor Vehicle Act coupled with awareness programmes amongst the motorists.
After chairing a high-level meeting at the South Goa district police headquarters with district police Chief, SP Abhishek Dania, DySPs Santosh Desai, DySP Traffic Prabodh Shirwaikar and the in-charges of police stations, the DGP further said that outstation motorists entering Goa will come under the CCTV lens at the border check posts, saying this would make the motorists realize that they are under the scanner of the authorities.
The DGP further said that the police department would also rope in authorities such as the PWD, National Highways to improve the road geometry and engineering to prevent accidents.
“We have reviewed the crime and traffic data and have analyzed the accident data compiled by the police stations. The analysis shows that the accident rate is considerably high in the month of January and February this year if one considers the State’s population”, he said.
DGP Jaspal said the police department has formulated a strategy to prevent the occurrence of road accidents. “All the police officers will go out and strictly enforce the MV Act, including sections on overspeeding, drunken driving, riding sans helmets and driving without seat belts. At the same time, it has been decided to conduct an awareness programme amongst the public about why motorists should follow the MV rules,” he said.
He added: “Considering the population, the accident rate reported in January 2023 and the first fortnight of February should have a high accident rate. Several accidents could have been prevented by strict enforcement. Hence, it has been decided to launch strict drive against over speeding and drunken driving.”
The State’s police chief further said that the meeting has decided to coordinate with stakeholders such as the PWD and national highways to take up modification and improvement in the road engineering and geometry so that accidents are not caused by a defect in the road geometry.
On the question of fixing CCTV cameras to reign in on traffic violators, the DGP said this measure had been recommended long ago.
He has mulled automatic capturing of violations by the automatic number plate recognition cameras. “These cameras will be installed at the border check posts so that drivers of outstation vehicles know for sure their vehicles are under the lens and they should observe traffic rules.”
