Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday decided to implement road safety audit policy for roads under the public works department to further strengthen road safety and reduce road accidents.
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Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, “The state government is committed to make the state’s road network safer, more efficient and more resilient. Every road project must prioritize human life and safety and the road safety audit policy would help in identifying risks at every stage of development and ensure timely corrective measures.”
The policy provides for road safety audits at five critical stages of a road project, including feasibility or preliminary design stage, the detailed project report stage, the construction stage, the pre-opening stage and the audit of existing roads.
The policy mandates that road safety audits shall be conducted either by Indian Road Congress certified road safety auditors or by departmental officers and officials who have successfully completed a 15-day audit certification programme and possess at least ten years of experience in hill road construction. Importantly, auditors must be independent.
Road safety cell to be established at the HPPWD headquarters
A dedicated road safety cell will be established at the HPPWD headquarters. The cell will oversee implementation of the road safety audit programme, monitor progress, empanel qualified auditors, review compliance reports and facilitate training and awareness programmes for engineers and other stakeholders.
The government has mandated that all road projects costing more than ₹1 crore will include a dedicated provision amounting to 1% of the project cost for conducting road safety audits.
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The state government has adopted a comprehensive Road Safety Audit framework in accordance with the guidelines and recommendations of the Indian Road Congress. The policy aims to improve road infrastructure, minimize accident risks and create a safer road network for all users.
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Meanwhile, the government informed that compared to the year 2023, road accidents in Himachal have decreased by 6.48%. A total of 2,107 accidents were reported in the year 2024 as against 2,253 in 2023. Fatalities also saw a notable decline, with 806 lives lost in the year 2024 compared to 892 in the year 2023. Additionally, the number of injuries also dropped from 3,449 in the year 2023 to 3,290 in the year 2024.
