Right to life and safety is a fundamental right of any citizen. This is guaranteed under the constitution of every country in the world including India. Anything, which is hazardous to humans, violates the right to life, and road safety is as much on the agenda as any other area, which may be accident-prone.

Road fatalities now leads the list of accidental deaths in India much more than any other, such as by drowning, fire, rail or air mishaps etc.

Road fatalities are due to a number of reasons, primary among them being faulty road and traffic policies, poor implementation of various laws governing road safety issues and last but not the least, the faulty engineering of road mechanics, may it be road design or traffic lighting etc.

Furthermore, lack of awareness of road safety issues amongst the masses, low apathy of the policy makers and implementers etc add to the problem.

CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CUTS-CART) has organised a month-long ongoing campaign on “Road Safety” from December 15, 2004 to January 15, 2005.

Activities/Programmes

Sensitising drivers of all kinds

All activities will focus on sensitising drivers of all kinds, specially the two-wheeler riders. Many a times, it has been noticed that due to the carelessness of not wearing helmets, riders suffer severe head injuries and many later succumb to them. 90 percent of such accidents are fatal. This can only be minimised by adopting safety measures like the helmet. An awareness campaign has to be conducted for proving its importance.

Apart from this, other road safety rules, traffic rules, and the importance of traffic signage are also to be impressed other drivers of different kinds of vehicles through various campaign methods.

Banners will be put up on all four sides of road junctions. Volunteers, hired persons and school children will participate, wearing T-shirts and caps depicting slogans of road safety. Help and guidance of traffic wardens will also be taken.

Awareness regarding safe driving to Roadways bus/City bus drivers

It has often been noticed that the bus drivers of Road Transport Department and the local city buses drive rashly, leading to accidents. These drivers, especially on highways, tend to mix drinks with driving, which is risky as hundreds of lives are at stake.

A campaign is required to educate and sensitise them, in which literature on road safety rules and a special booklet will be printed and distributed specifically for bus drivers. A seminar will be organised where government officials will be invited to speak and address the target audience. Nukkad Nataks will also be organised to impart the message of road safety to the target audience. Posters, booklets and other messages will be displayed at the venues and messages of road safety will be disseminated through them.

Awareness regarding safe driving to auto rickshaw drivers

In the city, autorickshaw drivers, apart from carrying passengers, also transport school children. The problems are firstly that they do not operate as per the norms and charge without meter and secondly, they overload children while transporting them to school and back. Camps will be organised for them in order to make them aware of the risks. Besides this, a special campaign, which will be sort of lobbying, will be done with the RTO office for making the metering in auto rickshaws compulsory. The action plan will be prepared separately.

Campaign to ban jeeps being used as public transport vehicles

CUTS had submitted a petition before the State Human Rights Commission on banning jeeps being used as public transport vehicles. The reason being that they do not have permits on licenses and overload passengers.

Many accidents take place on the highways and lead to deaths. A campaign is to be organised, the purpose of which will be to sensitise the public who travel by these jeeps, and also the drivers, who do not adhere to the rules and regulations.

Campaign to educate school children on road safety

It has become essential to educate school-going children on road safety issues. Today’s children will be tomorrow’s frequent road users. Many children come to schools on their own vehicles, bicycles, scooters or any other. It has been decided to conduct eight such camps in ten different identified schools of Jaipur. In these camps Nukkad Nataks and on the-spot drawing and painting competition on road safety issues will also be organised. The winners will be awarded prizes. School children will be distributed road safety literature also. The ten different schools will be identified later.

Campaign to educate rickshaw pullers on road safety

There is a large number of rickshaw pullers in Jaipur and often they cause traffic jams in the crowded city. These rickshaw pullers need to be educated on road safety. They are also responsible for overloading school children while ferrying them to school. Two camps will be organised for these rickshaws pullers.

Special Camp for ‘on the spot cartoon/poster painting competition’

A special camp for ‘on the spot cartoon making and poster making competition’ will be organised at a public place located at a central place in Jaipur. The participants will be the school children and the entries will be open to all.

The purpose of organising this is to include those schools where camps have not been organised, and the message on road safety will be imparted through cartoons and posters. Later on these messages will be published in the media, and journals of CUTS. A three-member team of judges comprising of officials from transport and traffic departments will award the winners.

School Children Rally

A school children rally will also be organised with children from as many schools as possible participating. A Government Official of the concerned department will flag off the rally.

Fixing of reflectors 

Reflectors are an essential part of animal driven vehicles like camel carts, bullock carts and horse carts etc. besides tractor trolleys.

At least 2000 reflectors have been targeted to be affixed on them at four different State Roads and three Mandis of Jaipur district.