Uttar Pradesh has a dubious record when it comes to road accidents, recording over 15,000 deaths, the maximum number in the country, due to road mishaps in 2013. Now a new initiative by the state government hopes to change this grim reality.
The state has asked all schools including private ones to appoint a nodal road safety teacher, to educate and inform students about traffic rules and road safety measures. Transport Commissioner, K Ravindra Naik told NDTV, “The idea is to educate not just them but also their parents, through the children, who will remind parents to wear seat belts and discourage drunk driving. These teachers will remain in touch with the local Road Transport Offices.”
To ensure that the scheme doesn’t remain merely on paper, the department organised a workshop in each of the 75 districts of the state for these teachers. A separate workshop was held for the school bus and van drivers, for all-round safety of children.
Naik said that in the first quarter of 2014 there were 203 deaths within 100 meter of schools. “In view of this we want to regulate school timings to avoid congestion of traffic to avoid accidents” he added.
To keep up the momentum for this campaign a Road Safety Week is being organised from the 11th to 17th January in the capital which will see the participation of students, civil society and transport unions.
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