Vijayawada Strives To Become Road Safety Model
The campaign would focus on responsible road-user behaviour, including helmet and seat-belt use, lane discipline and pedestrian safety.
VIJAYAWADA: Vijayawada is set to embark on a comprehensive road-safety initiative aimed at making the city a model town in road safety, with a target of reducing road accident deaths and injuries by 10 to 15 per cent. NTR district collector Dr G. Lakshmisha said on Friday that active participation from all sections of society was essential to achieve the goal. He said the Ideal Town on Road Safety project would bring together government departments, the police, private organisations, educational institutions, NGOs and other stakeholders to work in coordination to reduce road fatalities.
Dr Lakshmisha unveiled posters related to the project at the Collectorate here on Friday. The initiative is being taken up with the Honda India Foundation as the CSR partner and TRAX — Road Safety NGO as the implementing agency, in coordination with the Transport and Police departments.
The collector said the project would focus on four key pillars — engineering, enforcement, education and emergency care. Under the engineering component, infrastructure deficiencies at identified black spots would be assessed and rectified to improve road safety.
Traffic rules would be strictly enforced through the creation of zero-tolerance zones, while road-safety awareness programmes would be conducted among students and the general public. As many as 105 schools and 14 colleges, covering around 70,000 students, would be brought under the awareness campaign.
The campaign would focus on responsible road-user behaviour, including helmet and seat-belt use, lane discipline and pedestrian safety. Training would also be provided to first responders so that timely basic assistance could be offered to accident victims during emergencies.
Dr Lakshmisha said the initiative was intended not only to reduce fatalities and injuries but also to foster responsible road-safety behaviour among citizens. He stressed that a sustained, coordinated effort by all stakeholders was necessary to achieve measurable improvements in road safety.
Honda India Foundation representatives, Vijayawada-NHAI Project Director Vidyasagar, TRAX—Road Safety NGO (Delhi) General Secretary Rajani Gandhi, Regional Programme Officer M. Vasu and others attended the programme.
