The sense of responsibility of all road users to adhere to rules and regulations relating to road traffic so as to ensure their safety and prevent death and serious injuries from road accidents was underlined by the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, at the fifth meeting of the National Road Safety Commission at Sir Harilal Vaghjee Memorial Hall in Port-Louis today.
The National Road Safety Commission, chaired by the Prime Minister, was set up in 2016, to, among others, define national objectives and goals, and determine policies and priorities concerning road safety projects and programmes. The Commission brings together various Ministers who report on targets and actions initiated at their level with regards to improving road safety and prevent loss of life on the roads. It also sees to the implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy 2015-2025, which is largely based on the UN’s Decade of Action global initiative, and aims at achieving a 50% reduction in the number of killed and serious injury crashes by the year 2025.
Stressing that the number of deaths on the roads is alarming, with as at date, 76 persons having lost their life in 73 road accidents, while the figure for last year stands at 131 persons killed in 119 road accidents, the Prime Minister called for more vigorous enforcement measures by the Police Force. “At this pace, the target set to achieve 50% reduction in the number of killed and serious injury by the year 2025 would not be achieved”, he deplored.
The Prime Minister also noted that the number of deaths from the age of 26 to 50 years is more than half of the total number of persons killed, stating that this shows a great indiscipline in the way of driving of the young generation. He invited members of the Commission to think on the ways and means to reverse this trend. Mr Jugnauth is of the view, too, that the engineers of the Traffic Road Management and Safety Unit (TRMSU) should be trained in road safety aspect, as each decision they implement influence the life of citizens on the road.
Expressing his satisfaction that decisions taken at the previous meetings are being implemented by the concerned authorities, Mr Jugnauth announced that the TRMSU is envisaging a mid-term review of the National Road Safety Strategy 2015-2025 with the aim of adapting the strategies to the changing context.
Speaking on the objective to reduce accident cost and funding of the road safety strategy, the Prime Minister recalled that the cost of road crashes is estimated at 1.5% of the Gross Domestic Product, which for Mauritius amounts to Rs 6 billion. This sum, he said, has been confirmed by a research project initiated under the Road Safety Observatory by the University of Mauritius. Mr Jugnauth affirmed that the cost is however over and above the added burden of human suffering, which is not quantifiable and for which further research is required.
Commending the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology on the training and dispensing of road safety education to children, namely through the Continuum of Education, the Prime Minister looked forward to more promising actions for the young generations in the field of road safety. He also expressed his satisfaction on other initiatives such as: the signature by 29 public and private organisations of the Charter for Road Safety bringing out their commitment to road safety at work and preventing road risks to which employees are exposed; increased enforcement of traffic rules and the enactment of legislation and regulations to deter bad driving behaviour and traffic violations; and modern safe and efficient road networks.
After having listened to the various reports presented by the Ministers and representatives of the Police and the TRMSU, the Prime Minister concluded the fifth meeting by encouraging members of the Commission to make proposals, and give their views and suggestions on the way to make the functioning of the Commission more effective so as to achieve the objectives set under the National Road Safety Strategy.
The Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun; the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management, Dr Mohammad Anwar Husnoo; the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo; the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano; the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Mahen Kumar Seeruttun; the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin; the Minister of National Infrastructure and Community Development, Mr Mahendranuth Sharma Hurreeram; the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal; and the Minister of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms, Mr Teeruthraj Hurdoyal, attended the meeting.
