Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers has kick started the Road Safety Week which will conclude on January 17, 2015. The campaign was made possible with the active collaboration of Society for Automotive Fitness and Environment, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Delhi Police. A Walk for Safety was organised from India gate which concluded at Shastri Bhawan. The following slogan for the campaign was also launched: ‘Safety is not just a slogan, it’s a way of life.’
Along with other bodies, SIAM has also been trying to raise the safety awareness in the country and has been organizing various campaigns like this every year to make the general public understand the basic idea behind traffic safety. India leads the world in terms of road accident fatalities with around 1.38 lakh people dying every year, which is 10 per cent of global road accidents related deaths.
Cyclists are one of the worst hit groups in terms of road accidents and to reduce the risk and make them more visible, the International Road Federation has started fitting cycles with reflective tapes. So far 1.5 lakh cycles have been fitted with such tapes. To make road safety an issue to be taken seriously by the MPs, the public was also encouraged to talk to their MPs to divert a portion of their funds towards road safety.
The government will soon be trying to bring out a new Motor Vehicle Act which should be cleared in the next Parliament session. Pedestrians and cyclists have so far been ignored in the MV Act but this time the government intends to include them as well.
