State Level Crash Investigation Training programme for police in Odisha

Bhubaneswar:  With an objective to offer a scientific understanding of the accident investigation processes and its relevance, a State Level Crash Investigation Training programme has been inaugurated by Minister of Commerce & Transport Padmanabha Behera on Monday at Police Commissionerate.

It is first of its kind state level programme in Odisha where in officers of Police & Transport department will be trained how to provide authentic data of an accident which in turn facilitate the designing of policy-level interventions for the reduction of road traffic accidents.

The training programme will be carried in phase wise in all the police station across the state.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister said, “Road accidents are a serious cause of concern for all of us. In the last decade more than 45000 people have lost life due road accidents in the state. The government is committed to reduce the fatalities.”

Talking about the training programme he said, “This training programme will certainly enhance the skills of police & transport department officers for investigating a road crash with a holistic approach covering all possible causes.”

Emphasising the importance of licensing system, Sunil Kumar Bansal, DG, Police , chief speaker on the occasion stressed upon making the process of obtaining driving license further stringent and robust. Talking about the training programme, he said the trained and skilled investigators can provide important insights to both Enforcement and Road Owning Agencies in improving road safety scenario in the state. “Like a surgeon needs to be trained about surgery process, similarly officers need to be trained how to conduct investigation in a scientific manner. A proper crash investigation will help not only in finding the culprit but also in preventing further accidents,”hesaid

Addressing the inaugural session, S K Priyadarshi, Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar– Cuttack, said “We cannot reduce accidents in the state through enforcement only. We all understand that more work and efforts are needed in the field of road safety. We have to have a synergy in the mission of saving lives.”

The capacity building programme is being organised by State Transport Authority in association with Odisha Police. Muskan for Road Safety NGO is the knowledge partner for training. The organisation has been working pan India for twenty-one years for Capacity Building of Stakeholders, Road Safety Awareness, Advocacy, and Community Liaison.

An upgraded website of State Transport Authority, Odisha was inaugurated. The revamped website is one stop solution for transport related queries. It is user friendly, easy to navigate and informative. Some of the best performers in Road Safety in Odisha were felicitated on this occasion.

Earlier, Bishnupada Sethi, Principal Secretary, Commerce & Transport department said, “In our State annually more than 5,000 people are killed in accidents. The behaviour of road drivers has to change. Road safety is a high priority area for our Government and we are taking lot of initiatives for reduction of road accidents in the state.”

Arun Bothra, Transport Commissioner cum Chairman, Odisha gave welcome address and said, “The programme was planned as it is very important to analyze road safety data to understand why crashes occur, which factors influence risks, and what determines crash severity, and based on this understanding, to arrive at reliable conclusions on how to prevent them most effectively and efficiently.”

The training will be conducted at all the police range headquarters across Odisha and Police Commisionarate, Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. In the first phase, the training will be conducted at Berhampur, Rourkela and Police Commissionerate, Bhubaneswar. A total of 70 participants: 50 from police department and 20 from transport department will participate in the programme at each place.