Motorists, following road safety rules, were in for a pleasant surprise when officials of the Transport and Police Departments gave them flowers and chocolates for wearing helmets and seat belts, as part of the ongoing 32nd National Road Safety month at Maddilapalem Junction here on Tuesday.
The young motorists were all smiles as they got chocolates and flowers for following traffic rules while a few of the youngsters, who were not wearing helmets, had to hang their heads in shame as the enforcement officials took pains to drive home the safety message among them.
An ‘interceptor’ vehicle of the Transport Department was draped with banners all around displaying the road safety messages while the overhead speakers played audio messages.
The vehicle went round the city creating awareness among the public.
Radium stickers
Deputy Transport Commissioner G.C. Raja Ratnam, RTO R. Ch. Srinivas, MVIs M. Muralikrishna, Hari Prasad, V. Venkata Rao, Y. Srinivasa Rao and G. Satyanarayana were among those who participated in the programme. Later in the evening, radium stickers were affixed across rear side of vehicles at the Aganampudi Toll Plaza to make them visible at night.
“The accident rate in the city has shown a marginal decline this year compared to last year. There seems to be a growing awareness on road safety among motorists. We are planning to hold meetings at schools and colleges to create awareness among the future citizens of the country,” RTO Srinivas told this correspondent. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Police would hold road safety awareness programmes on the highways as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), he added.