IIT-Madras Team Inspects Black Spots In Odisha’s Berhampur, Spells Measures For Road Safety

Bhubaneswar: A team from IIT-Madras on Thursday inspected black spots, high-risk accident-prone areas, and identified engineering flaws in the road infrastructure in Odisha’s Berhampur.

The institute had signed an MoU with the state transport department in December to provide solutions for road safety challenges in the state.

The team headed by Prof Professor Venkatesh Bal Subramanian also held discussions with Berhampur SP Shravana Vivek on road safety measures, focusing on causes of accidents, including over-speeding and drunk driving, and formulating strategies to curb them.

Sources further that the the flaws in the road infrastructure would be reported to the departments concerned  for immediate action. Additionally, awareness efforts will be intensified in accident-prone areas to encourage safer road behaviour among the public.

Another key point of discussion was increasing citizen participation in road safety measures. It was decided to increase traffic monitoring, particularly during peak accident hours.

The team also proposed a dedicated task force to assist police in conducting scientific investigations of road accidents and recommending solutions. “The proposed task force should be christened as Sadak Suraksha Bal. We met state DGP Y B Khurania on Wednesday and shared our proposal with him. The task force may comprise ex-servicemen, who may be trained on road safety aspects,” Balasubramanian, head of Centre of Excellence for Road Safety at IIT-Madras, told the media.

He added that Scientific analysis of accident causes is essential for developing solutions.