Bhubaneswar: To check road fatalities in winter, the Odisha government has decided to launch a zero fatality week from December 1 again this year and ensure stringent enforcement of traffic laws.
It will be observed from December 1 to 7 and the government has adopted a 4E strategy – education, engineering, enforcement and emergency care to ensure zero death during the week.
“November to February is highly sensitive because of picnic and marriage seasons. Dense fog during night hours affects visibility on the road,” Commerce and Transport department Usha Padhee wrote while directing transport commissioner Amitabh Thakur to collaborate with different departments and stakeholders to curb accident deaths.
This period is also vulnerable because of peak tourist season.
“After the zero fatality week initiative in April this year, there has been a consistent decrease in fatalities from April to August as compared to the same period of previous year. The departments need to take all possible measures to achieve zero casualty during the week,” she added.
While road accidents had claimed 5,081 lives in 2021, the casualty figure shot up to 5,467 last year. Of the total road fatalities, over-speeding caused the highest 3,675 deaths. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, use of mobile phones while driving, wrong side driving and jumping red lights were other contributing factors behind the rising road fatalities.
Following an alarming rise in accident deaths in the first three months of this year, the government had earlier launched ‘zero fatality week’ on April 1 across the state. There was also 31.42 per cent growth in road deaths in February, followed by 18.18 per cent in January and 3.78 per cent in March.
