Students are our target audience when it comes to safety on roads, as about 40 per cent of the 1,322 road accidents in the last calendar year involved youngsters in the age group of 18 to 25 years, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) S. Srinivasa Rao has said.
He was addressing the students of SRK Institute of Technology, as part of the ongoing Road Safety Week here on Wednesday.
The officials ran a 30-minute documentary on road safety, highlighting various aspects that can cause accidents.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao informed the students that accidents in general occur due to minor mistakes. Stressing on a few aspects, he urged the students not to talk over cellphones while driving.
“Many accidents were caused due to drivers using cellphones while driving. During last year, we have booked over 1,300 cases for using cellphones while driving,” he said.
‘Wear helmets’The ACP also advised the students to use helmets. Explaining the efficacy of helmets, he said, “Head is considered the most important part in the body, and 90 per cent of the fatal cases in motorbike accidents are due to not wearing helmets. If the head is protected, 80 per cent of the fatality can be reduced. Last year, there were about 325 fatal cases in the city limits alone,” he said.
He also cautioned the students not to over-speed and triple ride a bike or scooter, avoid drunken driving, and overtaking from the wrong side.
Time managementQuoting the popular slogan ‘Speed thrills but also kills’, he pointed out that time management was an important aspect in life and hence it was always safe to start a few minutes early, rather than over speed or jump signals to reach the destination.
He informed The Hindu that during the week, the officials would be conducting awareness programmes in various schools and colleges. The police officials also conducted an awareness programme at Ravindrabharati High School in Krishnalanka.
