Gadkari urges people to obey traffic rules in light of increasing road accidents

New Delhi: Road Transport, Highway and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday urged the people to obey traffic rules and help reduce road accidents. “Obey traffic rules and exercise utmost care and caution on the roads. People should not drink and drive, and not violate traffic rules,” said Gadkari at an event here. [caption id=“attachment_2723522” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. PTI[/caption] The appeal came in connection with the growing number of road accidents and related fatalities in the country. Gadkari said that the growing number of road accidents in the country is a matter of grave concern, and it is extremely sad that so many innocent lives are lost everyday due to these accidents. “My ministry is working in earnest towards reduction of road accidents, 726 black spots have been identified and work is on to rectify these. Rs 11,000 crore will be spent for this work. Crash barriers are going to be installed in hilly terrains like Himachal Pradesh,” said Gadkari. “A Group of Ministers is working on recommendations to make Indian roads safer. This will pave the way for introducing a new Motor Vehicles Act in the Parliament soon,” added Gadkari. The minister also informed that 10 per cent of the CRF funds given to each state is to be used for identifying black spots on state and other highways. He called upon state governments to send proposals for the same. He also said that NGOs have also been roped in to create awareness on the subject. “Government alone cannot ensure safety on roads, and people should do their bit by obeying traffic rules and helping create awareness about the subject,” said Gadkari.