Road safety a challenge, awareness must to reduce fatalities, says Yogi

• TNN

• Published On Sep 7, 2025 at 12:49 PM IST

CM Yogi Adityanath stresses public awareness to curb road accident fatalities while inaugurating transport projects in Lucknow.

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Terming road safety as a major challenge, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday emphasised the need for increased public awareness to reduce road accident fatalities.

“Road safety is a challenge for us. The safety of every person walking on the road is our responsibility. We need to make common people aware of road safety and prepare them mentally for it,” the CM said while inaugurating various services of the transport department, along with digital launches and the laying of foundation stone, at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow.

“We lose more people in road accidents annually than we lost in three years during global pandemic due to Covid-19,” Yogi said.

He said that the transport department was the largest medium of public transport in the state and was the charioteer of the vision of a developed India.

“The transport department, with a little effort from urban development department, and in healthy competition with the private sector, can create three lakh new jobs by buying buses and improving connectivity between villages and cities. Many youths will find jobs, while people will get more facilities,” he said.

“UPSRTC has the largest fleet in the country, of over 14,000 buses. Providing services on such a large scale is itself an achievement, but the challenges are no less,” he said, praising the initiative of providing free bus travel for women for three days during Raksha Bandhan.The CM called upon the transport department to prepare short, medium, and long-term plans for public transport under Viksit Bharat, Viksit Uttar Pradesh-2047 programme. “These goals can be achieved by ending the habit of keeping the files pending, expediting public hearing, and strengthening teamwork to fast-track results,” he said. “During the 2019 Prayagraj Kumbh and the 2020 pandemic, when crores of workers and labourers were returning to their states and villages, the department played a crucial role in safely transporting migrants not only within UP but also to states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand,” he said.He said that during the 2025 Prayagraj Maha Kumbh, the department managed massive crowd and safely transported crores of devotees to their destination. “Around 66 crore devotees came to Prayagraj during the 45-day event. In every crisis, the transport department has served as a true companion for the state and society,” he said.

The CM said that through an app developed by UP Police, accident-prone areas were identified, reducing accidents in many places from 18 per month to just 3.

While discussing road safety, the CM said, “Why do people move at night? I ask even the minister (referring to transport minister Dayashankar Singh) why he travels all night. Get up on time, sleep on time. Keep your routine proper. What if ‘Suraj Bhagwan’ (sun god) also says that now I will rise at night? ‘To ho gaya phir dharti ka kalyan’ (how will earth sustain)? We need to follow nature.” “Technical support from institutions like IIT-Kharagpur, coordination with police and other departments like PWD, urban development and institutions, and traffic rule education in schools are necessary. Rules should be strictly enforced to check riding without helmets, seat belt violations, drunken driving, and overspeeding. People, many times, hate laws, but the same laws guarantee their safety and life,” he said.

Yogi said that medical and physical fitness tests of bus drivers should be conducted compulsorily every three months. Eye checkups are especially important so that accidents do not occur due to vision defects.

“Remember, if a passenger’s life is saved because of your actions, it reflects positively on you. People will begin to associate UPSRTC with safe travel. Conversely, if a passenger’s life is lost due to your negligence, the reputation of the Corporation suffers, leading to financial losses for you as well,” the CM said.

Adding that the transport department must make its services modern and competitive, he said: “To achieve the prime minister’s net zero emission target, electric vehicles are an important tool.”

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