RTA starts public awareness campaign to promote road safety

The regional transport authority (RTA) has started a public awareness campaign to promote road safety among commuters. The officials said they are aiming to reduce

The regional transport authority (RTA) has started a public awareness campaign to promote road safety among commuters. The officials said they are aiming to reduce road fatalities by 20% in 2021.

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A total of 20 hoardings have been put up at prime locations across the city to create awareness regarding road safety and emergency services in case of an accident. The department has designed creative pictures with clever messages across the city. It has also started putting up road safety stickers on taxis, buses and autos to spread the message, said officials.

Dhaarna Yadav, secretary, RTA, Gurugram, said that department has also identified the key accident-prone zones in the city and teams are already working on remedial measures. “Initially, we have put up 20 hoardings at major locations, which are used by the maximum number of commuters. It is important to rush an accident victim to the nearest hospital for timely first aid, which can save his or life. The commuters should have all the helpline numbers saved and it is important to highlight them on hoardings so that the ambulance can reach on time,” she said.

As per the official data, 675 road accidents took place in city between January 1 to December 24 this year. The police have also issued 318,332 challans for various traffic offences during the same period.

This is the first time that a comprehensive analysis of accident trends at the “black spots” in the city has been undertaken. While the number of deaths was 433 in 2019, it came down to 307 in 2020, the police said.

There are around 20 black spots in the city that report a high number of road accidents. The RTA has flagged off a programme to identify black spots on roads for the first time in December this year.

Yadav said the authority wants to reduce the taken by an ambulance to reach an accident spot.In many cases, victims die due to excessive bleeding and not receiving any timely medical help. As per the data, it takes 18 minutes on an average for a road accident victim to get medical aid. RTA officials say that this time should be reduced to at least 12 minutes.

The campaign also aims to raise awareness against drink driving.Challans for drink driving constituted 23% of the total number of fines issued, said the police. The number of challans have increased 10 times in the last five years.