Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on September 26 flagged off 58 new highway patrol vehicles to strengthen road safety, improve traffic management and ensure faster emergency response on national highways across the state.
The vehicles were flagged off at a programme held outside Samvad, the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, under the Home Department. Additional Director General of Police (Traffic) Sudhanshu Kumar welcomed the Chief Minister at the event.
Patrol Vehicles To Cover 3,000 Km
Under the first phase of the Highway Patrol Scheme, 61 modern patrol vehicles have been deployed across nearly 3,000 km of accident-prone national highways in Bihar.
The vehicles have been positioned at intervals of around 50 km to enable quicker response to road accidents and other emergencies.
The initiative aims to ensure safe, smooth and uninterrupted traffic movement on national highways while contributing to efforts to reduce deaths caused by road accidents.
Vehicles Integrated With Dial-112
The highway patrol vehicles have been integrated with Dial-112, allowing them to coordinate with the state’s emergency response system.
In the event of an accident, patrol teams will act as first responders, providing immediate assistance to victims and helping transport injured people to hospitals.
The initiative also focuses on the golden hour, when timely medical assistance can be critical for accident victims.
Focus On Reducing Road Accident Deaths
The government said the highway patrol initiative is intended to strengthen road safety and emergency response capabilities on major highway stretches.
The programme is also aligned with the Government of India’s Vision-2030 target of reducing road accident deaths by 50 per cent.
The deployment of dedicated patrol vehicles is expected to improve response times and coordination between highway patrol teams, emergency services and other authorities.
Senior Officials Attend Launch
Deputy Chief Ministers Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Road Construction Minister Kumar Shailendra, Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit, Director General of Police Preeti Verma, Home Department Principal Secretary Pankaj Kumar, Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Deepak Kumar, Chief Minister’s Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh, ADG (Traffic) Sudhanshu Kumar and other senior officials attended the launch.
The expanded highway patrol network is intended to provide quicker assistance during accidents and strengthen traffic safety across Bihar’s national highway network.
