The school traffic club scheme, being implemented by the Thiruvananthapuram city police to instill traffic sense among students and bring down the number of road accidents, was formally launched by State Police Chief (SPC) Loknath Behera on Friday.
Traffic clubs, the first-of-its-kind to be formed in schools under the aegis of the Kerala Police, have come into being in 15 city schools in the pilot phase. The scheme will be extended to other schools in the city and the State at a later stage.
Speaking on the occasion at the St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School here, Mr. Behera said that a sensitisation programme that focused on students was necessitated by the fact that youngsters formed a majority of the approximately 4,000 lives lost every year in the State in road accidents.
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“Numerous motorists in the State lacked discipline and driving skill. We still find many who wear seat belts and helmets only at the sight of police officers ,” he said.
Mr. Behera announced that trophies will be presented to the best school traffic clubs every year. He also launched the uniform, which included a reflective gear and a white helmet, and a ‘Stop’ sign. Presiding over the function, IGP (Thiruvananthapuram range) Manoj Abraham said that students could play a significant role in propagating awareness regarding traffic safety right from their own homes. ADGP (South Zone) Anil Kant, DPC (Thiruvananthapuram city) P. Prakash, school headmaster Joseph Jose, actor Samyutha Menon and filmmaker T.P. Fellini also spoke.