By Express News Service

GUNTUR: As part of measures to prevent road accidents on highways, the Police Department has come up with another new initiative. It is implementing ‘Face Wash and Go’ programme on national and State highways in the district from 1 to 4:30 am. The police already launched a Road Safety Project mobile app, which will send safety alerts to motorists at accident-prone zones.

According to available data, about 2 lakh people are losing their lives in road mishaps in the country every year. On an average two to five road accidents occur on the 74 km highway that passes through Guntur district from Tadepalli to Chilakaluripet.

As part of the Face Wash and Go programme, the police will stop vehicles at designated places on the highways and ask drivers to wash their faces.

The vehicle drivers will be allowed to go after having a cup of tea. The police stations located in the purview of NAM Expressway and NH 16 are implementing the programme. The police will also offer advice to drivers urging them to take care of themselves and think of their family members while driving and avoid accidents.

According to the police, the Face Wash and Go initiative has evoked a good response from vehicle drivers. The number of road accidents on the highways has also come down. The aim of the Road Safety Project is that police should be the first to reach the accident spot to take relief measures. The number of fatalities could be reduced if the injured were shifted to hospital within Golden Hour.

DSP and Nodal Officer of the programme M Kamalakar Rao said adequate police personnel were deployed on the highways for effective implementation of ‘Face Wash and Go’ during the small hours of the day. Nine police teams are patrolling the highways in the district at night. The response to ‘Face Wash and Go’ is good as it is immensely helpful to prevent mishaps on highways, he said.