Around 28 SSF vehicles have been equipped with laser speed guns and photo capture devices. MDT devices integrated with Vodafone phones are also being installed in these vehicles thus if there is a law and order problem and the road is closed, these vehicles will get an alert and they will divert the traffic accordingly.These devices also get accident alerts which helps providing immediate first aid, and transport the injured to hospitals, said sources. The vehicles will now be equipped with body-worn cameras and breathalysers thus ensuring prompt action and further reducing road accident fatalities, sources added.Punjab became the first state in the country to constitute a Sadak Surakhya Force and it was launched on January 27, 2024. The SSF teams respond to road accidents reported via Dial 112/100 or wireless, reaching sites within 6 to 8 minutes to provide first aid or transport seriously injured individuals to government hospitals which is the platinum hour in case of accidents to safe lives.Talking to TNIE, Additional DGP (Traffic and SSF) AS Rai said that there has been a 48 per cent decrease in road fatalities after SSF was set up last year as envisioned by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to protect public life and property.”The newly recruited police personnel underwent two months of specialized training at Kapurthala Training Centre, covering public interaction soft skills and first aid training from the Red Cross. Now we are planning to send them to Australia and California in the US to get training from the Highway patrol departments in those countries,’’ he said.”We are soon going to review the working of the SSF and deepen it’s reach to ensure that travelling on roads of the state becomes a present and safe experience for commuters,” Rai said.
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