NHAI presented an overview of the road safety management system, covering safety performance, institutional arrangements, highway engineering and operations, road safety audits and black spot management. The presentation also addressed speed management, Intelligent Transport Systems and other technology enabled interventions alongside emergency response, post crash care and monitoring and performance management. Citizen engagement, commercial vehicle safety and driver welfare were outlined as priorities alongside key challenges and future focus areas.
Participants reviewed institutional arrangements, engineering practices and operational systems and identified opportunities to strengthen road safety through adoption of a Safe System approach. The approach was framed around strategic areas including risk identification and prevention by safe highway engineering, safe operations, commercial vehicle safety, Intelligent Transport Systems, emergency response and digital safety management with monitoring and decision support. Performance monitoring, governance and institutional accountability were defined as central to a strategic roadmap for National Highway safety.
NHAI and the NRSB will continue engagement through periodic review meetings to address emerging challenges and to strengthen interventions across the network. The meeting included a diagnostic review of the road safety ecosystem with emphasis on technology enabled measures and emergency response mechanisms, and it noted NHAI adoption of Advanced Traffic Management Systems, predictive artificial intelligence solutions and digital mapping of ambulances to improve incident response. The NRSB chairman emphasised identifying the top 10 accident prone locations and strengthening first response capabilities at toll plazas through first aid training for toll personnel, together with closer coordination between NHAI field offices and state administrations.