Mangaluru, Feb 15: The week long Road Safety Awareness initiative jointly organized by Mangaluru Regional Transport Office, Mangaluru City Police and Anti-Pollution Drive ended with a formal conclusion recently at Ramakrishna College Hall. Over one week, several road shows on road safety and traffic rules were performed at various locations around town to keep the general public informed about its importance.
The culmination of this road safety week was witnessed by students and faculty of Ramakrishna College, Bunt’s Hostel where Police, RTO and APD officials were present. An informative play by MSW Students of St. Aloysius College on importance of traffic rules and responsibilities of motorists and pedestrians were highlighted.
John Misquith, the Regional Transport Officer of Mangaluru expressed concern over the latest statistics of road accidents, which shows that casualties are steadily going up. “World Health Organization published the Global Status Report on road safety where 10% of road accidents in the world is contributed to by India. In the country however, 40% of all road accidents involve two and three wheelers while 10% involve pedestrians”, he added.
APD representatives handed over a detailed report on the awareness activities conducted by them to John Misquith. The activities included drawing, slogan and quiz competitions for school kids, medical camp at RTO, bike rally with Kawasaki Moto Rack, street plays at various locations and truck display with accident vehicles at various locations.
Bhujang Shetty Guddeguthu, the founding member of ‘Jagruti Safety Council, Baikampadi’ was given a traditional honour for his relentless efforts to spread awareness on the subject. In his talk, Bhujang Shetty said, “Motorists in general consider traffic rules to be a bane on society but if it weren’t for these rules, road wouldn’t be safe. Road accidents can result in loss of life or disability, both of which are not desirable. School text books must have more information on traffic rules for the younger generation.”
Dr. Deepak Rai, a Consultant Orthopaedic and Joint Replacement Surgeon expressed his concern to accident victims and said, “As a surgeon in the trauma wing, every accident was observed to be preventable. It is disheartening to know that most of the road accident victims are young people. We must train the youth between ages 18 – 35 to remain safe while on the road.”
Vasanth Shetty, President of Ramakrishna Education Trust went emphasized that guidance related to traffic should begin right from adolescence before teenagers get their driving license. “Traffic related accidents happen when motorists are either in urgency or their focus is diverted. Students from 8th standard to PUC should be educated on the harsh reality of getting into an accident,” he added.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Manjunath Shetty congratulated the Regional Transport Department, Mangaluru Traffic Police and Anti-Pollution Drive Foundation for taking this awareness campaign vigorously. The function included prize distribution for Quiz, painting and slogan writing competitions for school and college students, which were organized as a part of Road Safety week.
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