Bengaluru: From elderly to the young, more than 200 people were present at the NDTV – United Spirits’, Road to Safety campaign in Bengaluru on Wednesday. All of them sent out one clear message – #NeverDrinkAndDrive. The objective of Road to Safety campaign (a Diageo initiative, in partnership with NDTV), is to address concerns and raise awareness about road safety in the country. Road safety and drink driving have been two ongoing issues in our country. This year’s aim for the campaign is to make people pledge that they will #NeverDrinkAndDrive.
Drink driving is one of the leading causes of accidents and deaths and is one of the five key “risk-factors” for road accident deaths, as per the World Health Organization (WHO). As per the Road Accidents in India report by the Transport Research Wing of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, drink driving caused 55,504 accidents between 2013 and 2015, resulting in 20,186 deaths and 58,326 injuries.
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Total number of deaths due to drink driving between 2013 and 2015
People of Bengaluru participated in a Walkathon from Kohinoor grounds off Bull temple road to National College Ground in Basvangudi area of South Bengaluru to voice their support for Road Safety.
Bengaluru joins the Road Safety campaign and says #NeverDrinkAndDrive
The walk was flagged off by 16 time World Billiards Champion Pankaj Advani and M Mariappa, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) – South Sub-division of Bengaluru.
Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani asked youngsters to obey traffic rules and use other options to get back home after a party instead of driving under the influence of alcohol. He said,
The message is very simple. Lot of accidents have been happening and they have been on the rise for the last few years in big cities and Bengaluru is no exception to that.
“If you drink then don’t drive and if you drive then don’t drink,” says Pankaj Advani, 16-time World Billiards and Snooker Champion
The 31-year old sportsman says he is often the designated driver for his family friends.
I don’t drink so I am always the designated driver for my friends and family. He went on to urge that “if you drink then don’t drive and if you drive then don’t drink.
Bengaluru Traffic Police have been at the forefront of using technology to make the city’s roads safer. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr Mariappa stressed on the role of parents in ensuring that children follow rules and don’t risk fellow road user’s life.
Everyone should obey and follow the traffic rules, currently in India, what we need is more awareness on road safety. Every year in India, around 1.4 lakh deaths are caused due to road accidents and more than 10,000 fatalities occur in Karnataka alone. The parents have to take the initiative to not provide vehicles to the minors as that can be the first step in curbing youngsters’ involvement in road accidents.
The youngsters and senior citizens present in the walk stressed on the need to ensure pedestrian safety as well.
According to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Data, 2015, some 13,894 people died in road accidents in India in the year 2015 while over 5 Lakh people were injured. More than half the number of people killed in road accidents in 2015 were aged between 15 and 34 years. The report also states that more number of people die in our country due to road accident than terrorism and natural calamities put together.
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The Road To Safety campaign aims to make people aware about road safety and why being a responsible driver on the road is important.
Pledge Now: Join the #NeverDrinkAndDrive Campaign