New Delhi. : In order to undertake a comprehensive review of road safety systems on the National Highway network, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and National Road Safety Board (NRSB) held an institutional meeting at NHAI Headquarters in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by Dr. Nitin R. Gokarn, Chairman, National Road Safety Board and NHAI Chairman, Shri Santosh Kumar Yadav. Other members of NRSB, officials from Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, NHAI, State Administrations, and Road safety experts were also present.
The meeting marked an important step towards establishing a structured institutional framework for sustained collaboration between NHAI and NRSB with the objective of strengthening road safety governance, enhancing National Highway safety standards and accelerating efforts towards reducing accidents on the National Highways.
During the meeting, NHAI presented a comprehensive view of the current status of road safety management on National Highways, covering road safety performance and emerging trends, institutional arrangements and governance, highway safety engineering and operations, road safety audits and black spot management, speed management, Intelligent Transport Systems and technology-enabled interventions.
The presentation also covered emergency response and post-crash care, monitoring and performance management systems, citizen engagement and user-centric services, commercial vehicle safety and driver welfare, besides identifying key challenges and future priorities for strengthening road safety across the National Highway network.
The discussions assessed the existing institutional arrangements, engineering practices and operational systems, while identifying opportunities to further strengthen road safety through the adoption of a Safe System approach. The approach encompasses six key strategic areas including Risk Identification, Safe Highway Engineering and Prevention; Safe Highway Operations, Commercial Vehicle Safety and Intelligent Transport Systems; Emergency Response, Incident Management and Citizen-Centric Safety; Digital Safety Management, Monitoring and Decision Support Systems; Performance Monitoring, Governance and Institutional Accountability and Strategic Roadmap for National Highway Road Safety. The two institutions will continue structured engagement through periodic review meetings to identify emerging challenges and strengthen road safety interventions.
The deliberations also included a detailed diagnostic review of the existing road safety ecosystem on National Highways, with emphasis on technology-enabled interventions and emergency response mechanisms. Dr. Nitin R. Gokarn, Chairman, NRSB, appreciated NHAI’s adoption of advanced technology tools for enhancing road safety, including the deployment of Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS), predictive Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions and digital mapping of ambulances to strengthen incident response and emergency services. He further emphasized the need for identifying top 10 accident-prone locations across the country, along with strengthening first-response capabilities at toll plazas by providing first-aid training to toll plaza personnel, enabling them to provide timely assistance to road accident victims. It was also emphasized that NHAI field offices should work closely with state administrations and keep them informed about the road safety initiatives for better coordination.
The interaction between NRSB and NHAI marks the beginning of a structured and sustained institutional partnership focused on strengthening the road safety ecosystem on National Highways.
