Punjab launches integrated database to reduce accidents

Chandigarh, April 1 (IANS) To reduce road accidents, Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Friday launched the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD), making Punjab the first state in the country to initiate ultra-modern technology equipped with GIS maps for reducing road accidents to the minimum level, improving road designs and identifying accidental black spots.

After inaugurating the intra-departmental mobile application based project related to the Public Works Department (B&R), the Health and Family Welfare, the National Highways Authority of India and the Punjab Mandi Board here, the minister said each day, 10-12 road accident fatalities are being reported in the state, which is more than the national average of eight-nine deaths per day.

He said seven major states -- Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan -- started using iRAD projects and the Punjab is first in the country that launched it after integrating it with GIS maps with police station boundaries.

The minister said the main objective of the project was to create an integrated road accident database for compiling accident databases from the states and every part of the country.

The project will implement data analysis techniques and analyse road accident statistics collected across the country and make various suggestions.

Bhullar said the government has fixed the maximum speed limit of 25 kmph for all vehicles near the schools to ensure the safety of the students.

The iRAD system starts with a mobile application, which will enable police personnel to enter details about a road accident along with photos and videos, following which a unique ID will be created for the incident.

Subsequently, an engineer from the Public Works Department or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile device.

The engineer will then visit the accident site, examine it, and feed the required details, such as the road design. Data thus collected will be analysed by a team at IIT-Madras, which will then suggest if corrective measures in road design need to be taken.