Books on road safety in Tamil and English will be launched by the government soon, said M. Vasu, joint director (NSS), Directorate of Public Instruction. He was speaking at the inauguration of a programme called ‘Together for Safer Roads in the state of Tamil Nadu’, aimed at reducing road accident fatalities in the state. The programme was organised by Handicap International and PSA Foundation along with city-based ATSWA Trust, on Friday.
The project, launched on Friday, will be continued until December 2020. It aims at reducing road accident fatalities, injuries and their consequences in the State through two main interventions -- school zone action and a multimedia awareness campaign.
The ‘Safe School Zone Actions’, will include organising a participatory safety audit of school premises and their vicinity, installing traffic signages, road safety clubs in targeted schools and competitions. Teachers and school staff will also get training on safe school zones to ensure that practices continue in the school beyond the project’s duration.
The multimedia awareness campaigns will be aimed at youth and school children.
A total of 1,500 children including 60 teachers from two schools -- Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School and Anita Methodist Matriculation Higher Secondary School -- are expected to participate in project activities on safe school zones. A total of 2,00,000 teens and youths will benefit from access to information on road safety, leading to fewer injuries and fatalities.
Addressing the audience, Mr. Vasu said that as part of the Road Safety Project of the State government, different departments are coordinating to reduce road accidents in the State. “Children should know how to perform various actions, such as calling the ambulance,” he said.
In a presentation, Willy Bergogne, regional programme director, Handicap International, pointed out that in Chennai, there were 7,580 road crashes in 2018 which roughly translates to 22 every day. There were 1,260 fatalities in these road accidents.
Augustine Justin, senior director, HR PCA Motors pvt limited, said : “More students should be part of road safety programmes and commit to making roads safer.”
S. Muthuvelpandi, assistant commissioner, Nungambakkam, who also participated, asked the students to ride safely.
