NHAI eye testing drive reveals 50 per cent highway drivers suffer eye defect

India accounts for 11 per cent of the world's road accidents.

Mail Today Bureau | Posted by Amit Vasudev

New Delhi, December 14, 2017 | UPDATED 05:57 IST

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An astonishing 50 percent of the 6,000 highway drivers that underwent a vision test were found to be with weak eyes, a major cause for concern in a country which accounts for about 11 per cent of the world's road accidents, a top official said on Wednesday.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) organised a three-day eye testing camp at its toll plazas in which 6,000 drivers registered. As many as 3,000 of them were distributed spectacles, the official said.

"And you will be shocked to know that 1,000 among them had a number of two-plus and were driving without spectacles," secretary of the ministry of highways Yudhvir Malik said at 'Safe Road Safe Life' event organised here by industry body Assocham.

Taking a cue from this, Malik said, the NHAI is not only facilitating health check-up camps, but every camp is keeping glasses with power number 1.75 to 2.5 for immediate distribution.

Besides, Malik said, that it is only in India that a person, till a few years ago, could acquire driving licences without appearing before the authority and hold multiple licences.

"In contrast, in countries like the UK, it is a rigorous process," he said, adding driving institutes will have to play a major role in terms of enhancing and building up the driving capacity, and the new Road Safety Bill will have a provision that if one has a training certificate from an accredited driving school, the person will not be required to appear before a driving licensing authority.

Malik said the major cause of accidents in case of long-haul commercial driving is due to fatigue and sickness.

"We have identified along national highways 183 sites where we are immediately taking up development of wayside amenities of which 15-20 are proposed to be only for truckers," he said, hoping that the new Road Safety Bill will get the Parliament's nod soon. The Bill proposes hefty penalty for violation of traffic rules.

(With PTI inputs)