Amaravati, Nov 26 (NationPress) Expressing alarm at the rising number of road accidents, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu instructed officials on Wednesday to implement third-party auditing to investigate the underlying causes of these incidents.

This auditing process aims to determine whether accidents are attributed to vehicle defects, driver negligence, or deficiencies in road engineering.

During a meeting of the Road Safety Council at the Secretariat, the Chief Minister highlighted the alarming statistic of 6,433 fatalities resulting from 15,462 road accidents in the state this year alone.

Andhra Pradesh ranks eighth nationally in terms of road accidents.

Officials reported that approximately one-third of these accidents involved two-wheelers, with a staggering 53% of incidents being self-accidents involving both cars and two-wheelers.

The CM directed an investigation into the high mortality rates from road accidents specifically in the districts of Nellore, Tirupati, Palanadu, Annamayya, and Kakinada.

It was noted that 79% of the accidents were due to speeding, while 3% were caused by wrong-side driving, and 1% due to alcohol consumption and mobile phone usage. Of these, 42% occurred on national highways, and 21% on state highways.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the establishment of road safety agencies at both state and district levels, the creation of a State Road Safety Fund, the correction of hazardous road spots, and the implementation of crash barriers to prevent accidents.

He mandated that a Road Safety Council meeting be held every three months to monitor progress on these initiatives.

Additionally, he ordered the installation of speed governors in transport vehicles as per regulations to control speeding, while also suggesting that the installation of speed governors for non-transport vehicles be considered. The National Highways and R&B officials were instructed to set up CCTV cameras every half kilometer on both sides of national and state highways to monitor vehicle speeds, which should be connected to the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) and a dedicated tracking control room.

Vehicles exceeding speed limits despite warnings are to be seized, and the CM emphasized that measures for speed control should be implemented within three months.

He directed that all protocols be followed as per the Supreme Court Committee's guidelines and called for the establishment of a modern driving training center.

He urged for the swift completion of the driving training centers in Darshi and Adoni, and ordered the repair of road signs, black spots, and the establishment of pedestrian facilities and markings. A total of 680 black spots on national highways are to be addressed.

Naidu also urged strict action against unauthorized vehicle modifications, which contravene the Bus Building Code. He recommended exploring alternative solutions to this issue, as unauthorized modifications, particularly of sleeper buses, are contributing to the severity of accidents.

A study on vehicle registrations in northeastern states like Nagaland should be conducted to inform potential changes in Andhra Pradesh to ensure state revenue is unaffected. A letter will be sent to the Centre regarding vehicle permits for sleeper buses across various states.

The CM was informed that so far, 134 buses with unauthorized modifications of All India Tourist Permits have been seized, and school buses are being routinely checked.

Transport Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy, DGP Harish Kumar Gupta, along with senior officials from the Road Safety Authority, Transport Department, National Highways, Municipal Administration, and other departments attended the meeting.