The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari has appealed to people to obey traffic rules and exercise utmost care and caution on the roads. He has requested people not to drink and drive, and not to violate traffic rules. The appeal has come in wake of the growing number of road accidents in the country and the related fatalities. The Minister said that the growing number of road accidents in the country is a matter of grave concern, and it is extremely sad that so many innocent lives are lost everyday due to these accidents. The Minister reiterated his commitment to bring down the number of accidents and related fatalities and said that his Ministry is working in earnest towards this end. 726 black spots have been identified and work is on to rectify these. Rs 11,000 crore will be spent for this work. Crash barriers are going to be installed in hilly terrains like Himachal Pradesh. A Group of Ministers is working on recommendations to make Indian roads safer. This will pave the way for introducing a new Motor Vehicles Act in the Parliament soon. The Minister also informed that 10 % of the CRF funds given to each state is to be used for identifying black spots on state and other highways. He called upon state governments to send proposals for the same. He also said that NGOs have also been roped in to create awareness on the subject. Shri Gadkari has said that the government alone cannot ensure safety on roads, and has appealed to people to do their bit by obeying traffic rules and helping create awareness about the subject.