Indian roads are the most dangerous in the world, given that, on an average, there is an accident every minute and a fatality every four minutes. Over 10 lakh Indians have lost their lives in road accidents over the past 10 years and road traffic injuries are a leading cause of death for young people between 15 and 29 years.
Road safety is one of the biggest concerns for the Indian government and society today, impacting each and every one of us.
NDTV-USL Road To Safety, a Diageo Initiative is a social campaign to make our roads safer and attempt to reduce the number of “preventable accidents” by encouraging citizens to be more responsible behind the wheel. While a lack of awareness, bad road designs and poor maintenance of roads are definitely a part of the problem, a majority of accidents are a result of drunken driving.
Now in its second edition, the campaign attempts to address this issue by encouraging citizens to take a pledge to Never Drink and Drive. We are also working on charting a roadmap for a future where every life is valued by actively engaging with the country’s leading experts, policy makers, NGOs, and activists to highlight local issues, agendas, and recommendations.
SEASON 2
The campaign in its second edition addressed the issue of road safety by encouraging citizens to take a pledge to Never Drink and Drive. The campaign was also supported by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Nitin Gadkari, who spoke of his government’s commitment to prioritise road safety.
SEASON 1
The first season of the campaign was supported by lawmakers, central and state road ministries, traffic police from different cities, NGOs, activists, citizen groups, and college students. Various celebrities including Karisma Kapoor, Anil Kumble, Arjun Kapoor, Gautam Gulati, Ayushman Khurana, Dia Mirza, and Nagesh Kukunoor joined the campaign, while more than 2,50,000 people took the Diageo-NDTV ‘Never Drink And Drive’ pledge.
The Road Safety Week was observed across Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata and Jaipur in January 2015; and a 7-point agenda covering aspects ranging from laws that need amendment, regulation of motor vehicles to training requirements of the traffic police force was presented to the government.