Immediate medical help can avert 50,000 road accident deaths: Gadkari

NEW DELHI: Immediate medical care can help prevent 50,000 road accident deaths, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday while urging people to help such victims in getting speedy medical treatment.Speaking at a road safety event organised by FICCI, Gadkari said a report prepared by AIIMS has found that “nearly 30% deaths are due to delay in getting medical care during the golden hour”. The Golden Hour is the first hour after a person suffers a traumatic injury, when emergency treatment is most likely to be successful.“I urge people to help road crash victims as it can save many lives,” Gadkari said as he talked about the legal provisions to protect Good Samaritans and the cash reward of Rs 25,000 for such “Rah Veers”. Free cashless treatment of up to Rs 1.5 lakh or seven days’ medical treatment is provided to crash victims.An earlier Law Commission report had estimated that 50% of lives lost in road deaths can be saved by providing immediate medical care and this has been the basis of the renewed focus on deployment of ambulances across states to reach crash sites quickly.The minister said that despite several measures, the number of road fatalities have not come down, which remains a matter of concern. He highlighted how five states — Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka — account for a high number of road deaths and emphasised the importance of integrated efforts to deal with the grave issue.He also announced the govt’s decision to investigate fatal crashes on National Highways and said 77 NH stretches have been identified which have recorded a high number of fatalities.