A road safety initiative launched by AXA in India, in collaboration with Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) and city-based Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru (IPH), was kicked off in the city on Friday.
Called ‘Safer Roads Bengaluru’, the initiative is aimed at making roads safer. Inaugurated by Transport Secretary B. Basavaraaju, the initiative will focus on identifying crash-prone stretches of roads and bringing sustained interventions, which are expected to reduce fatalities in the days to come.
Every year, about 1.5 lakh Indians die from road injuries while about 5 lakh sustain serious injuries. Karnataka, with a population of over 6.1 crore, accounts for the third largest number of road injuries and fifth highest number of road traffic deaths in India.
Explaining the initiative Dr. N. Devadasan, Director of IPH, said , “Road traffic crashes are a grave public health concern, as they are the main cause of death among those aged 15–29 years. Karnataka and Bengaluru witness many crashes leading to death and disability each year. We will conduct a detailed study of various factors causing crashes on Bengaluru roads as a part of this initiative and work with best practices on one or two stretches of roads to make them safer.”
Head HR and Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, AXA Business Services, Nagarajan V. and G.S. Venkatesh, Director, Advance Research, RGUHS also spoke on the occasion.