This story is from September 22, 2016

Mobile App to keep eye on road hogs

Alarmed by a spurt in road accidents, the state transport department is all set to launch a mobile application to crack the whip on road hogs. Once launched, anyone can click photographs of road rule violators by using the App and send the pictures to the department for action.
Mobile App to keep eye on road hogs
(Representative image)
BHUBANESWAR: Alarmed by a spurt in road accidents, the state transport department is all set to launch a mobile application to crack the whip on road hogs. Once launched, anyone can click photographs of road rule violators by using the App and send the pictures to the department for action.
“Experts are giving final touch the proposed App’s design. It will be a free App.
The objective is to check violation of road safety rules by involving common people in the campaign,” regional transport officer (zone-II-Bhubaneswar) Sanjay Behera told TOI.
Even though the department often claimed to have initiated a series of measures to minimize accidents, the decision to create an App came close on heels of the gruesome accident in Angul on September 9, which killed 19 passengers of a bus. Police said the mishap took place as the driver was busy on his cell phone.
In April this year, 27 members of a jatra troupe were killed when a bus carrying it plunged down to a 300-feet gorge in Deogarh disrict during evening hours.
“The proposed App will be helpful for commuters in public transport vehicles. The passengers can click photographs of erring drivers and any other traffic violations that come to their notice,” the officer said.
Stung by the Angul mishap, the transport department recently asked commuters of buses, autos and taxis to lodge complaints on a tollfree number 1800-345-1073.
The Supreme Court committee on road safety, which monitors enforcement of traffic related rules in the country, recently slammed the state government for a sharp increase in fatalities in road accidents in 2015. While 3931 persons died in road mishaps in the state in 2014, the fatality number shot to 4303 last year, transport department data revealed. Total number of accidents too increased to 10,542 across the state last year as compared to 9648 accidents reported in 2014.

“We already asked all district collectors to convene meeting with district road safety committees and finalize action plans to check accidents. The district level road safety action plans will be submitted to the Supreme Court committee by end of September,” said transport minister Ramesh Majhi.
The apex court’s road safety committee, headed by justice K S Radhakrishnan, pulled up Odisha government for the rise in road deaths and asked the state government to find out the causes of the rise in road deaths. The committee also asked the state government to set a target to reduce the fatality rate by 2020.
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About the Author
Debabrata Mohapatra

Debabrata Mohapatra is a senior correspondent at The Times of India, Bhubaneswar. He holds a PG diploma in Journalism from Chennai and covers crime and civic issues. Debabrata spends his leisure reading and watching cricket on TV.

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