UP plans volunteer force to half road accidents

These volunteers’ roles will include monitoring school-zone marshalling, pedestrian/crossing assistance, helmet/seat-belt counselling, queue/crowd management, work-zone safety support

Noida: To reduce accidents by 50%, the UP Transport Department has plans to build a community-based volunteer support system under the 5E (Enforcement, Engineering, Education, Emergency Care, Evaluation) model of the road safety programme, officials said on Monday.

According to the Noida Traffic Police, “797 accidents took place in 2025 from January to August, in which 311 were killed and 585 sustained injuries. Similarly, in 2024, 714 accidents were reported, in which 304 died and 666 were injured.” (HT Archives)

Officials said that these volunteers “Sadak Suraksha Saathi” (SSS) will work during the high-risk time from 3 to 9pm for ₹3,000 a month, and will have insurance provisions.

“The ‘Uttar Pradesh SSS’ system will combine visible presence, behavioural change, and granular data to deliver measurable reductions in crashes,” said UP transport commissioner BN Singh in a statement.

“These volunteers’ roles will include monitoring school-zone marshalling, pedestrian/crossing assistance, helmet/seat-belt counselling, queue/crowd management, work-zone safety support, etc.,” the department said.

According to the Transport Department, “10 volunteers will be hired in each of the 351 tehsils of UP, who will be provided with a two-day module training covering basic first aid, crowd management, traffic etiquette, safety SOPs.”

The Noida traffic police has nearly 500 traffic police personnel in the district.

Brajesh Kumar, who actively works as a traffic volunteer in Noida, said, “The proposal is good, but the plan to have only 10 volunteers in each tehsil is not enough. The department should divide the volunteer ratio according to the population and traffic issues of the district.”

Another traffic volunteer from Noida, Amit Gupta also stressed that ₹3,000 is not enough and why people will spend six hours a day for ₹100. “Instead of making SSS, the department should focus on black spots and infrastructure.”

According to the Noida Traffic Police, “797 accidents took place in 2025 from January to August, in which 311 were killed and 585 sustained injuries. Similarly, in 2024, 714 accidents were reported, in which 304 died and 666 were injured.”

An official from the Noida transport department said, “Steps will be taken as directed by the department to ensure proper implementation of UP’s SSS.”