The government is spending more than Rs 20,000 crore to rectify accident prone black spots on roads across the country in order to reduce fatalities in such incidents, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday.

Speaking here at the launch of a research report by Nissan India and SaveLife Foundation, Gadkari said the first priority of his ministry is to save more lives from road accidents which account for over 1 lakh deaths each year in the country. “One of the major reasons for road accidents is flawed engineering. We have already identified the black spots…We are spending more than Rs 20,000 crore only for implementing this and making underpasses, flyovers etc,” the road and transport minister said.

He said road safety issue requires more public awareness besides a serious approach in important factors like issuance of driving licences. “We have also suggested to state governments to include chapters on road safety in primary education..Government is also taking preventive measures in auto industry like seat belt reminders,” Gadkari added.

“While there have been various initiatives undertaken to raise awareness around road safety in India, the importance of wearing rear seat belts has been completely neglected,” Nissan India President Thomas Kuehl said. He added that the company along with SaveLife Foundation and SHARP, has set a target to reach out and educate over 2 lakh children in 240 schools across 12 cities on usage of rear seat belts, and road safety.