To create an awareness about traffic safety among school students, five schools from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar will include traffic rules and road safety measures in the curriculum. This new curriculum will be introduced in the first week of September.

It will be launched as a pilot project in St Xavier's High School, Mirzapur, Tripada International School, Sheth Amulakh Vidhyalay, and Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar branches of Divyapath School.

The initiative has been spearheaded by Amit Khatri, a traffic expert, and winner of India Road Safety Mission 2015. "With the help of some volunteers, I have made the course materials on road safety. Students of classes VII, IX and XI will study the new curriculum. The motive behind the incorporation is that by the time these students enroll in driving schools, they should know traffic rules by heart."

Every week, one period (one hour) will be allotted for the subject. An exam on the same will be conducted, and a certificate will also be awarded.

Welcoming the move, DCP of Traffic Tejas Patel said, "This initiative will shape children and young people's understanding and attitude towards road safety. It will help in creating awareness."

Speaking about a similar initiative taken up by the traffic department, Patel said, "Similar activities are being conducted by the traffic department at Traffic Children's Park, where students from different schools across the city are taught various aspects of road safety."

Khatri does not want to keep the initiative limited to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. "If the pilot project turns out to be a success, I put forward a proposal before the state government to make it compulsory in every school across the state," he said.