Improving road safety , driving skills and health of drivers are among the goals of a new initiative launched by developer D S Kulkarni, spurred by an accident on the PuneMumbai expressway that killed his driver last month.
Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday , Kulkarni announced the formation of a foundation which will work to improve skills and health of drivers, ensure that vehicles have fitness certificates, and spread awareness about the importance of road safety among government agencies and transport companies.
The foundation has been named `Neeraj Lifeline’ in memory of driver Neeraj Ramakant Sind (39), who worked for Kulkarni for over 22 years.
Sind was killed in an accident late at night on May 25 when a container truck collided head on with the sports utility vehicle (SUV) he was driving. He was ferrying Kulkarni and one of his administrative officers back to Pune from Mumbai. Sind died on the spot and the front portion of the SUV was completely mangled.Kulkarni had suffered injuri es in the accident, including broken ribs and a dislocated arm.
Orthopaedic surgeon Sharad Hardikar, who was also present at the press briefing, spoke about the focus areas for Neeraj Lifeline Foundation.“We are determined to make the expressway and other highways and roads around the city safer. We will be setting up a driving school to educate and guide drivers to improve their skills to handle every kind of vehicle -from a small car to a big container truck. We will also be focusing on the health of those driving on the expressway and highways to ensure that they have the (physical) capacity to undertake long journeys,“ he said.
Ensuring vehicle fitness and speed control will also be a thrust area for the foundation.It will also reach out to transport companies, highway authorities and government agencies to spread awareness about the criticality of not overloading vehicles and overburdening drivers with backto-back journeys. Hardikar will preside over the committee of volunteers working on the project.
Civic activist Vivek Velankar, a trustee of DSK Foundation, emphasized the need to improve road and driver safety on the expressway and other highways. “It’s unfortunate that transport companies set very difficult targets for their drivers, expecting them to drive continuously for very long hours for monetary incentives. This makes them drive rashly and that is the biggest reason for accidents on the expressway ,“ Velankar said.
Foundation members have prepared an information document highlighting ways to avoid accidents on the expressway . Dhananjay Pachpor, chief operating officer of D S Kulkarni Developers Ltd, said, “It will include details like road design, its ideal dimensions, construction of dividers, and placement of plants. We hope to present it to the state government soon.“
The foundation will be officially declared open on June 28 in the presence of state cabinet ministers Chandrakant Patil (cooperation, marketing and textiles and public works), Diwakar Raote (transport), Eknath Shinde (public works department), minister of state Vijay Shivtare and Mahesh Zagade, chief executive officer of Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA). The open-to-all event will be held at Balgandhrva Rangmandir between 6pm and 8pm.
Source : TOI
