PILIBHIT: Aiming to cut down fatalities in road accidents, assistant regional transport officer (RTO) Amitabh Rai along with the district police has identified 15 " black spots " that have so far been accounted for the maximum number of accidents in the past two years.The identification exercise is a part of the traffic safety month being observed here from November 1, and during which officials chalked out several plans to cut down fatalities in road accidents.Meanwhile, the road transport department also organised an event to pay candle-light tribute to the people who died in road accidents to make riders and drivers understand the importance of following safety measures during the driving.According to Rai, "The black spots have been identified in accordance with a Supreme Court's guidelines that expound a black spot as a place having the history of at least 10 deaths or five major road accidents within a radius of 500 metres in the past consecutive three years.""Of the 15 black spots, six each have been identified in Pilibhit Sadar and Bisalpur tehsil , while there are three in Puranpur tehsil. These black spots accounted for the most of the total 180 road accidents reported last year, in which 77 lives were lost. Besides, these black spots also accounted for 81 deaths till June this year," he said."A close analysis of these fatal road accidents suggests that the rapid replacement of bicycles by motorcycles in village areas, speeding vehicles, riding without a helmet and the use of mobile phones during driving led to most of the accidents," said Rai."Reckless access to highways through rural link roads with speeding bikes is also one of the major causes of fatal accidents in the proximity of village areas," he added.Divulging details of the action plan to mitigate road accidents, RTO said, "The safety measures under the plan include making provisions for placing warning boards, powerful reflectors, especially at the crossings, road dividers and other sensitive points, speed breakers, structural changes at junction points between village roads and highways, and removal of encroachments at the crossings that completely blocks visibility of speeding vehicles close to crossing points. It also envisages the coordinated role of three departments - the road transport, district police and PWD. The implementation of the plan has already been initiated and the target is to complete it within six months."Earlier, a gathering of government officials, including district magistrate Akhilesh Kumar Mishra, ADM Braj Kishor, city magistrate Archana Dwivedi, ASP Rohit Mishra, Pilibhit Sadar circle CO DS Marchhal, and social volunteers took out a candle march from Gandhi stadium to Chhatari crossing to pay homage to the road accident victims.

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