Coming Together for Road Safety: 250 Students Take The #NeverDrinkAndDrive Pledge
The United-Spirits NDTV ‘Road to Safety’, a Diageo Initiative, kicked off to a power-packed start on a second day of road safety week at Amity University in Noida with over 250 students from different universities pledging their support for the cause of road safety.
New Delhi: Drink Driving is one of the major causes of road accidents in the country. Over 55,000 road accidents have been caused due to drink driving between 2013 and 2015 causing over 20,000 deaths, according to a Ministry of Road Transport report. And while there has been a marginal decline in the number of accidents due to drink driving in the last 3 years, it continues to be one of the leading causes of road accidents. To raise awareness about this problem, 250 students from Noida’s Amity University came together to pledge against drink driving. The occasion was India Road Safety Week, which is being celebrated between January 9 and January 15. The students had joined in, as part of NDTV – United Spirits Road to Safety campaign.
Pledge Now: Join the #NeverDrinkAndDrive Campaign
Total number of accidents due to drink driving between 2013 and 2015
Also Read: With Rising Number Of Road Deaths, Why India Needs To Fight Drink Driving
To spell out the importance of the cause and to put their knowledge and understanding of road safety and driving to the ultimate test, students from three Universities – Jagannath International Management School (JIMS), Galgotia’s University and Amity University, competed in a quiz contest. The quiz comprised twenty questions, each seeking to test the teams for in-depth factual information about road-safety laws, fines, norms and scenarios. According to a student from Amity University,
The quiz was enriching and while preparing for it one realized that road safety, while being one’s personal prerogative has so many dimensions. There are so many intricate Road Safety laws, for example, which I learned about while preparing.
Also Read: How Dangerous Are India’s Roads?
Students learn about Road Safety norms during Road Safety Week celebrations in the Capital
In what was a heated competition, Galgotia’s University and Amity University had a near photo-finish, with the latter winning by 2 points – with a total tally of 78 points. For the teams, the contest and winning it became secondary somehow, what took precedence was learning about the concept of Road safety. A student from Galgotia’s University said,
What’s most important for me is the idea that this is ultimately a dialogue between the young. It is we, the youth, who are most prone to drunken driving and I suppose when the advice and information comes from those our age, like we have had in today’s quiz, there is a greater ease and urgency to rise up to the occasion.
The need to emphasize the importance of road safety for the youth was also reiterated by renowned fashion designer Leena Singh, of Ashima-Leena Designe Collections, who was the chief guest at the event.
Whenever you are driving on the road, you must always remember just like the other people on the road, there are those who are waiting for you at home. Be it parents, or siblings, or anyone else, why would you want to endanger your life and those of all the others who care for you, she said while addressing the students.
Also Read: 5 Things To Know About Road Safety Week 2017
So what began as a competition ended on a note of promise with students coming together to pledge against drink driving. In a country where a road accident takes place every minute, this NDTV – Diageo Road to Safety initiative, sought to initiate dialogue with the youth on a theme that deserves their attention as 45% of those killed in roads crashes are below 30 years of age.
In Pictures: Delhiites Celebrated Road Safety Week With A Quiz Competition
