Indian roads have witnessed some 1.5 lakh deaths due to road accidents in 2016, according to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Keeping this in mind, the Automobile Association of Upper India (AAUI) has called for observance of “Road Safety and Awareness Year” in 2020.
The AAUI has proposed for organising a year-round awareness programme for road safety in 2020, instead of the present form of a Road Safety Week which is celebrated every year for spreading better awareness among road users in India.
The Association, which has presence in Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, aims to organise one mega programme in each state every three months to spread awareness about the importance of road safety and better road using methodology for all road users’ apart from organising year-round smaller programmes in schools, colleges and other important places to connect with the masses.
T.K Malhotra, president of AAUI, told The Sunday Guardian, “The comprehensive thought behind the proposal to mark 2020 as a Road Safety Year is to commemorate ‘Decade Action for Road Safety 2011-2020’ which was officially proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in March 2010. Its objective is to stabilise and reduce forecast level of road traffic deaths around the world to 50% by 2020.”