5 Things To Know About Road Safety Week 2017

India’s chaotic roads are officially the most dangerous place to drive on, in the world. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways 2015 report states that some 1,46,133 people lost their lives and 5,00,279 were injured in road accidents in India.

What’s worrisome is that this number is not only the highest that India has ever recorded in the history, but it also represents nearly a tenfold increase since 1970.

To make Indian roads safer and to initiate responsible driving among people, National Safety Council of India along with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways started with the idea of ‘Road Safety Week.’  Here are the 5 things you should know about the road safety week:

1. When is Road Safety Week celebrated?

Road safety week is celebrated in India in the month of January, every year. This year the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is organising the 28th Road Safety Week from January 9 to 15.

2. How was the idea of Road Safety Week initiated?

National Safety Council of India (NSC) is an autonomous body set up by Government of India to engage with the public on safety, health and environment issues. NSC along with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and regional governments set a week in January as the National Road Safety Week in India.

3. How is Road Safety Week celebrated?

The Ministry allocates a special budget to each state to help them organise the road safety week activities. From organising special camps in schools by cops and women drivers to performing plays on road safety to distributing pamphlets on roads for creating awareness on responsible driving, the activities can be as diverse as possible, as long as it spreads the message of road safety.

This year the government agenda is to prevent and control road accidents. Various promotional activities are being undertaken with the aim to reduce instances of over speeding, drink driving, helmet-less driving and seat belts not being used. The activities include usage of posters, banners, films among other things to highlight the cause.

4. Is there a theme for the Road Safety Week every year?

Usually Road Safety Week is celebrated with a specific theme. Some of the themes of the previous years are:

2015: Build a Safety Culture for Sustainable Supply Chain
2014: Walk for Road Safety
2013: Stay Alive, don’t drink and drive

But this year the road safety week is being observed without any specific theme.

Also Read: How Dangerous Are India’s Roads?

5. What is the Ministry doing this year?

Apart from organising country-wide essay competitions for school children on the topic of road safety, the Ministry will launch two mobile apps – e-Challan and m-Parivahan during the week. These mobile apps aim to provide a comprehensive digital solution for enforcement of traffic rules.

e-Challan: It is a comprehensive digital solution for transport enforcement and traffic police that is integrated with Vahan and Sarathi applications. The app will provide improved transparency by connecting all stakeholders through a common system and ensuring data integrity; adding to the benefits, the app will also provide ease of operations, efficient monitoring through digitisation of records that will enhance the visibility of offenders; and overall better traffic management.

m-parivahan: It is a citizen-centric app that will facilitate access to various transport-related services. The app provides for virtual driving license and registration certificate through back end connection to Transport National Register. If a vehicle number is entered into the app, it will give full details of the car and the owner including his driving license (DL) and registration certificates (RC.)

Will provide a way to check genuineness of a vehicle and driver, help in passenger safety when hiring a driver or when buying a second hand vehicle.

This app will also enable people to report accidents by clicking pictures and inform the traffic authorities in states and Regional Transport Office (RTOs,) with an option of keeping their identity confidential, if they so choose. Citizens can also report traffic violations.

Also Read: Will Present Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill In Budget Session: Nitin Gadkari