The next time you visit the K.K. Nagar Regional Transport Office (RTO) for getting a licence, make sure you give a personal commitment towards road safety. The officials at the RTO have been asking applicants to fill in a card with an undertaking on following traffic rules.
On a daily basis, over 150 applicants visit the K.K. Nagar RTO for getting a new licence, licence renewal and transfer. “The card contains space to fill the applicant’s name, e-mail address and their two personal commitments towards road safety,” said V. Madhavan, motor vehicle inspector at the K.K. Nagar RTO.
The project, which is the brainchild of K. Mahadevan, a petroleum retailer, is being carried out in collaboration with the Transport Department. “In the existing scenario, there is no process to evaluate how much the applicant knows about road safety. Now, road accidents pose a higher threat than heart attacks. Through the cards, we try to ensure applicants think about the mistakes they make,” said Mr. Mahadevan.
The project was initiated in June this year. “Some of the new licence applicants were flabbergasted when they saw the card. They did not know what to write. But some others were keen and wrote about wearing a helmet and not speaking on the phone while riding. Some others promised they would fasten the seat belts while driving,” said Mr. Madhavan.
There are a total of 11 RTOs in the city and on an average, 15,000 applicants are given licences every month. “We also follow up on the commitment cards. As the applicants’ e-mail address is provided, we send them mails related to road safety, regularly,” said Mr. Mahadevan.
In the coming months, the RTO also plans to take the cards to schools and IT companies. “In schools, it is a measure for early intervention. The average age group of IT workers is 25 to 30 and the maximum number of accident victims is of this age group,” said Mr. Mahadevan.
