Teaching Road Safety At A Tender Age
Road safety is a serious concern in India. With a large population density and almost non-existent traffic sense, mishaps are a common happening in India.
The country is in its developing stage. The infrastructure is improving at a lightning fast speed in most of the major cities of the country. However, along with that many more manholes open up with all the digging on the road causing many more accidents. Also, if there are no potholes, there are always stray animals roaming around on the road posing even more risk for the vehicles. The drivers now have to remain alert at all times for their safety as well as the safety of other people or animals moving around them.
According to recent studies, India reports the highest fatalities in the world, with 1.46 lakh people losing their lives in 5.01 lakh road accidents across the country, which roughly translates to 400 deaths a day. The primary contributors for road accidents are over speeding [62.2%], consumption of alcohol [5.1%], overtaking [7.8%] and usage of mobile phones [1.5%].
It is rightly said, that old habits die hard. And so it is wise to develop the habit of road safety at a tender age.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor believes in this. They believe that children are the main influencers and they play a key role in transforming the society we live in. Taking this into account, the company has been striving to bring about right road sense knowledge & behavior amongst schools. The company launched Toyota Driving School across the country with an objective to train the student to be a responsible and safe driver. To achieve behavioral change towards road safety, they have developed Team Toyota Activity (TTA) to create safety minds in the society.
Through this, the company has taken one step forward to develop the road simulation infrastructure at select schools and give practical training to children towards building right road users.
Spearheading the cause of road safety in India, Toyota inaugurated its 5th “Safety Model School” in partnership with M/s Lumax Mannoh Allied Technologies Private Limited.
“It is important to shape children’s attitudes towards road safety and help them stay safe on roads. Ingraining a well-designed road safety in curriculum into lessons on other subjects, or assemblies or other school activities can play a vital role in influencing the attitudes of children that can turn them into responsible drivers and pedestrians,” said Mr. Anil Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police – Traffic [Rewari] at the launch event of the school.
The “Safety Model School” is a unique comprehensive program supporting school children to know & learn about the road safety habits in their daily life. It includes creation of a safety zone within the school campus. This will create an environment for children to understand and practice road safety every day. Children will be educated on the importance of road safety signals, following the right safety behavior, adhering to traffic rules and causes of accidents. Towards achieving the safest commute for the children to and fro from school, the program has also ensured that the school bus drivers are trained on safe driving practices.
Toyota aims to bring about the behavioral changes amongst the road users by creating awareness through good road etiquette, thus in turn contribute to reduce the road accidents. We should all follow the example of the company’s initiative, practicing safe driving practices while inculcating the same in the children.
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