SIAM put a spotlight on road safety in India

The apex body of vehicle manufacturers put a spotlight on the critical aspect of road safety in India, engage with youth to create awareness among the new generation. Extensive training programs are organised including a refresher training program, road safety awareness, and health and eye check-up camps across India.

According to government statistics, nearly 1.5 lakh people lost their lives on India roads in the year 2018, and many injured. India tops the global ranking in the highest number of road accidents and casualties 190 countries worldwide. Hence, the Indian government is putting a lot of focus to reduce accidents and make India road safer.

Similarly, road safety is a critical aspect of the automobile industry, where it is not only about bringing vehicle safety technologies, but the driving behaviour of vehicle users is important. Especially, the young generation has the power to change the world! Keeping this goal, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) kicked off the National Road Safety Week on January 11. The initiative will begin with a ‘Walkathon for Road Safety Awareness. The whole week starting from 11th January to 17th January 2020 will be celebrated as National Road Safety Week, in association with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India (MoRTH) and Delhi Traffic Police. This year’s theme for the Road Safety Week is Bringing Change Through Youth Power.

Speaking about the initiative Sugato Sen, Deputy Director-General, SIAM, said, “The theme for this year is “Bringing Change Through Youth Power”, through which we intend to build an aware and responsible future generation. The importance of road safety and responsible driving practices are things that should be inculcated from very early on, in life. Towards this end, we will be introducing a slew of impactful measures involving educational institutions as well as professional/regular drivers. For the last three decades, we have not only been organising training programs, seminars, workshops and brainstorming sessions to drive awareness and identify innovative solutions to promote safety on the roads but are also playing an instrumental role in helping shape conducive policies and regulations that will prove to be effective in ensuring a safe and happy India.”

There are many other activities being organised at various locations across the country as part of the umbrella initiative. This includes training for school bus drivers at two locations, namely, IDTR Loni and IDTR Burari. In addition to that, the itinerary of the week includes Refresher Training Program for Three Wheeler Drivers and Heavy Commercial Vehicle Drivers, Road Safety Awareness Programs with School & College Students and Drivers, Health & Eye Check-up Camps for Drivers at 20 Truckers Hub in India and Eye Check-Up Camps at Toll Plazas. There will be numerous other activities taken up by automobile members as well, across different locations across the country.

A seminar on New Technologies playing a Pivotal Role in Building Safe Mobility will be organized on 14th January 2020 at IHC, in association with MoRTH and Delhi Traffic Police, which aims at providing brainstorming sessions on various aspects of road safety, training and technical understanding to the people.

There are a variety of activities planned for the entire week in New Delhi and other cities. Various attractions in New Delhi will include:

• Interaction programs at Road Intersections - 20 locations
• Refresher Training Program for Three Wheeler Drivers at Loni
• Refresher Training Program for Heavy Commercial Vehicle Drivers at Burari
• Road Safety programs with schools, colleges, and other stakeholders 
• School bus driver training program at Burari and Loni

Various attractions across the nation will be – 

• Road Safety Awareness Programs with School & College Students and Drivers (more than 20 programs) in Odisha
• Road Safety Awareness Programs with School & College Students and BEST and Police Drivers (10 programs) in Mumbai
• Road Safety Awareness Programs with School & College Students and Drivers (8 – 10 Programs) in Pondicherry
• Road Safety Awareness Programs with School & College Students (5- 8 Programs) in Rajasthan
• Eye Check-up Camps at 10 Toll Plazas