A youngster speeding on his motorcycle sans helmet, a man not wearing seat belt while driving a car, pedestrians not bothering to use the foot- over bridge to cross the roads – these are some of the most common scenes on the streets of Delhi and Gurgaon every day. It was through these situations – and more – that
Asmita Theatre Group shared the message of road safety in a 'nukkad natak' staged at
Cyber Hub
on Wednesday evening. The play was staged as part of the
National Road Safety Week being observed all over India by the
Union Ministry of Road Transport. The Gurgaon event is being jointly organised by the
Gurgaon Transport Department,
Indian Road Safety Campaign, and Gurgaon-based private companies AB InBev and
DLF.
Actors from Asmita Theatre Group generate awareness about road safety through their nukkad natak
The 20-minute long play showcased the major traffic rules we break on a daily basis and how we stand to benefit from just doing things by the book. A sizable crowd of office-goers gathered near the amphitheatre to watch the play. Rajan Singh, a software engineer who works at Cyber Hub, said, “It was a really engaging way to send the message across. There are so many rules we break daily, like not using the zebra crossing, driving without a helmet or seat belt on. We don’t realise that following traffic rules is not about avoiding challan but keeping ourselves safe.”
Dheerendra Samineni from
Safe Drive India explains to the crowd the best way to wear a helmet
After the play, road safety engineer Dheerendra Samineni from Safe Drive India – an organization that promotes safe driving – also spoke to the office-goers at Cyber Hub, talking about things including the right helmet for two-wheelers and how women should wear a dupatta while riding a two-wheeler. Through an interesting experiment, he even demonstrated how drinking affects one’s hand-eye coordination and response time, as he asked volunteers to walk a distance wearing glasses that distort their vision. Naresh Dhiman, one of the volunteers, told us, “After I wore those glasses, I could not see properly. It was distorted to mimic how a drunk person would see. And I really had a lot of difficulty simply walking. It goes to show how dangerous drinking can be for drivers.” Safe Drive India also set up a virtual reality two-wheeler, giving Gurugrammers a chance to test their riding skills.
Volunteers wear special glasses that replicate a drunk person’s vision to demonstrate the effects of drinking on a person’s reactions
Officegoers try a virtual reality two-wheeler at the event
Nukkad natak at Cyber Hub give...