Chandigarh, October 10: With the the fatality rate in road accidents coming down by 45.03 % as compared to year 2023, the Sadak Surakhiya Force launched by Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has emerged as a beacon of change in state government’s commitment for safer roadways and enhanced traffic management.
Divulging the details, the Chief Minister said that Sadak Surakhiya Force (SSF) was launched by him on January 27, 2024 at PAP complex in Jalandhar and in eight months of its existence it has helped in reducing the number of deaths caused due road accidents upto half. He said that from February to September 2023 1454 persons were killed on the roads of the state in accidents whereas this year after launch of this force 794 persons have lost their lives in road casualties from February 2024 to September 2024. Likewise, Bhagwant Singh Mann said that 15309 injured were provided first aid treatment during this period adding that the response time of SSF in case of any causality is merely 15 minutes and this force has emerged as ‘lifesaver’ for the people of state.
The Chief Minister said that SSF is a novel kind of force in the country, to fill in the gap of Traffic regulation on National and State highways, which was deployed for the first time in the state of Punjab on February 1, 2024. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this premier force consists of newly recruited 1600 police personnel, who have been provided with specialized training in trauma care. He said that these cops have been provided with 144 vehicles (116 Toyota Hilux and 28 Scorpio vehicles fitted with Speed Interceptor) to patrol on 4100 kilometres of highly accident prone road length, with bear area of each vehicle being 30 kilometres.
The Chief Minister said that the total cost of raising this new force was Rs 50 crore and the SSF have a high visibility real-time policing approach and is driven by data to ensure effective regulation and control of traffic 24 x 7, especially during late night and early morning hours when the maximum number of road crashes occur. In addition, Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the unit is responsible for crash investigations, implementing intelligent road accident data analysis (iRAD), and e-DAR (Electronic Detection and Accident Reporting) implementation in the state. He said that unit is also trained in first aid and emergency care, including training for the first responders, and target hardening techniques to ensure the safety of vulnerable road users.
