Abdul Wahab Khan
Panaji: Critical road crash analysis reports on fatal accident spots in North Goa remain unsubmitted despite 13 meetings over 18 months, raising serious questions about the commitment of key departments to road safety initiatives.
The North Goa district road safety committee, chaired by the additional collector, has been persistently requesting the district police, the traffic police, and the Public Works Department (PWD) to expedite crash analysis of one fatal accident site from each of the five talukas in North Goa.
The objective is to understand causative factors and alert road users about prevention measures, but these authorities have consistently failed to deliver the crucial reports.
Despite repeated directives and reminders, the absence of timely crash analysis reports reflects a systemic weakness in inter-departmental coordination.
The lackadaisical attitude has now caught the attention of senior officials, with sources confirming that the matter has reached the North Goa superintendent of police, who will seek explanations for the inexplicable delays.
The additional district collector has also called for an action taken report.
Member secretary of the panel Pradeep Gaude expressed his frustration with the ongoing delays.
“As discussed at the district road safety committee, fatal accident analysis report of Bardez and Pernem talukas is awaited from Division XIII for the last four months. A letter has been addressed to Division XIII to coordinate with the traffic police and submit the same within 15 days on receipts of the letter and mostly before the next meeting of the panel in October,” Gaude stated, adding that directions have been given to executive engineer EEXIII PWD, road, Mapusa.
The initiative began with a proposal on February 20, 2024, establishing sub-committees comprising PWD engineers and the police to conduct priority accident analysis in a time-bound manner. The chairman initially directed analysis of five recent accidents in Pernem with an eight-day deadline, but this proved to be overly optimistic.
Subsequent meetings revealed procedural gaps in implementation. The March 18, 2024 meeting highlighted that the notified procedure requiring the police to submit ‘Form A’ to the PWD for road engineering analysis through ‘Form B’ was not being followed on the ground.
This procedural lapse was viewed seriously as a failure in implementing established protocols.
By May 16, 2024, the process stalled further due to the Lok Sabha election code of conduct. Even when joint inspections were carried out in Bardez and Pernem talukas later that year, the findings were never formally tabled before the committee. Reminders have since been issued at every monthly meeting from October 2024 through May 2025, but reports remain pending.
GOACAN’s suggestion at the August 20, 2024 meeting emphasised on gazette notification requirements for accident analysis committees to visit sites and analyse data systematically. The organisation recommended studying five cases each from 2023 and 2024, focusing not only on road engineering defects but also public negligence factors.
Despite a directive of October 22, 2024 for joint inspections within 15 days of five fatal accident spots, the meeting held on November 20, 2024 revealed minimal progress with no reports placed. Joint inspections were conducted only in Bardez and Pernem talukas, with representatives from PWD divisions frequently absent from committee meetings, hampering coordination efforts.
From January through May 2025, meetings continued reiterating the same demands, with decisions repeatedly made to send reminders to accelerate the process—a clear indication of systemic inertia.
The urgency becomes more pronounced considering the alarming accident statistics. Motor vehicle accidents registered in North Goa and South Goa show a concerning trend: 2,374 cases in 2020, peaking at 3,012 in 2022, before declining to 2,683 in 2024.
More disturbingly, over 170 persons lost their lives in the first eight months of this year alone.
