Despite the lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions last year, the city recorded 468 fatal accidents and 493 deaths in 2020. The previous year, in 2019, the death toll was even higher at 688.
In an attempt to address this problem and reduce the number of fatalities, the traffic police have launched a drive to instil road safety culture among motorists and pedestrians, B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) told The Hindu.
The initiative, which was launched on Saturday, will involve civic agencies associated with road engineering, maintenance and management. Underscoring the importance of the need to improve the city’s track record, Mr. Gowda pointed out that more people died of fatal accidents than the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The entire country and its medical infrastructure has geared up towards fighting the pandemic. We need to address accidents with the same urgency. Little has been done to reduce deaths due to road accidents, which are avoidable and can be prevented successfully,” he added.
For this, motorists and pedestrians, too, have a part to play. “We have chalked out a series of programmes, including inculcating a road safety culture among road users. The other important aspect includes awareness of the Golden Hour rule; the Good Samaritan law that encourages people to help accident victims; and most importantly, safety measures to be taken while using roads.”
Catch them young
To spread awareness among school children and educate them on traffic rules, the police have prepared 28 short animated videos that will be played in theatres, public places and schools.
This apart, dedicated staff will be deployed at the children’s traffic park near Bowring Institute to teach them how to ride bicycles safely while reading road signage and using traffic signals. “This will give children practical experience on road usage,” said a senior officer who is part of the enforcement drive. He added that this project will commence after once COVID-19 rules are relaxed
Youth film stars and celebrities have been roped in to share messages on road safety.
State of roads
One of the main problems raised by citizens during their interactions with the police is the sorry state of roads. “Civic agencies associated with road engineering will also be roped in to maintain the roads as this can also bring down the number of accidents,” Mr. Gowda said.
