Centre of Excellence for Road Safety & Awareness (CoERSA) of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) organised the second Road Safety Seminar virtually from New Delhi on December 15, 2021. Director General Border Roads (DG BR) Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry addressed all BRO personnel, including ADGBR East & North West, all Chief Engineers of Projects, Commanders of Border Road Task Forces and Officers Commanding of Road Construction Companies. Lectures were conducted by participants from various projects and by Dr KR Rao of IIT Delhi.
There were discussions on various topics, including safety & capacity issues of hill roads, road safety in mountainous roads, importance of road maintenance, zero fatality corridor, safety practices at work sites, road design & pavement marking for enhanced road safety. The aspect of the Road Safety Audit was discussed and the participants shared their ideas towards addressing practical challenges. The next phase of the Road Safety Audit will now be conducted by certified auditors who underwent their training in IIT Delhi. They will examine BRO construction practices for improvement in design and incorporation of improved safety aspects in road geometry among other issues, specifically for mountainous and snowbound areas. This will enable early planning for the improvements to be incorporated in the next working season.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh had dedicated the CoERSA to the Nation in June 2021 to create awareness about road safety through analysis sharing of road accidents and suggesting methods to save precious lives. The CoERSA organised its first Road Safety Seminar in September 2021 and the initial framework for audit of roads by individuals from within the organisation was formulated. The exercise of road safety audit was undertaken in a graduated manner commencing with a phase-wise internal audit of existing roads performed by individuals within the Projects.
The roads constructed by BRO are used not only by the Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces but traversed extensively by the tourists and adventure seekers from all over the country. With the advancement of construction technology and practices, road infrastructure is being prepared to sustain traffic in all-weather conditions.