State Govt directs Police to ensure strict compliance of SC's order on Lane Driving in Highways

The State Government has asked the police headquarters to introduce lane driving on the national highways to reduce road accidents.

Transport secretary Madhusudan Padhi has written to director general of police (DGP) Abhay to explore the feasibility of launching the lane driving system first under the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack commissionerate police jurisdiction.

The transport department said the Supreme Court had on November 30, 2017, issued a number of directions, related to road safety measures to all states. In one of the directives, the Supreme Court had categorically asked the states to strictly implement motor vehicles (driving) regulations-2017 that mandates lane driving and also provides the protocol for overtaking. But the apex court’s order has not been implemented in the state yet.
In 2019, at least 1,040 road accidents occurred due to wrong-side driving and faulty overtaking, and killed 445 persons in the state, said an official source.

“Therefore, strict implementation of the lane driving regulations is of paramount importance. For reduction of accidents and compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, steps may be taken for implementation of the lane driving system in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack commissionerate police areas in the first phase. Subsequently, the lane driving guidelines should be implemented in other cities and highways,” Padhi wrote to Abhay.

While the DGP was immediately unavailable for comment, the police headquarters said they would soon initiate steps to introduce the lane driving concept in the state.

The commissionerate police had in July this year sent a proposal to the state home department and sought approval for launching a lane driving project on the National Highway-16, connecting the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

“We had drawn up a detailed plan and sent it to the government for approval. The government’s approval is awaited,” a senior police officer said.

According to the plan, roads on the both sides of the NH will be demarcated with lanes or tracks for movement of specific type of vehicles. It was proposed that the vehicles with up to 40-50-kmph speed would be allowed to move on the extreme left of the road, vehicles with up to 60-70-kmph speed in the middle and vehicles with speed up to 80-kmph will ply on the extreme right side (close to the road divider) of the road.

“We proposed to install retractable cone bars on the road at some places for physical segregation of the vehicles into the concerned lanes according to their speed limits. Funds and other infrastructure are required for successful launch of the lane driving project,” the officer said.

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