Citizens Awareness Group, Chandigarh with support from Consumer Voice, Delhi organized a peaceful walk which originated from Traffic Park, Sector 23 here on Sunday to mark the World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims and demanded safer roads for all.
Many citizens participated in the peace walk. This year’s slogan of World Day of Remembrance is ‘Roads Have Stories’. This annual global event represents a significant opportunity to call attention to the pathetic road safety situation in the country.
About 1.3 million people die each year on the world’s roads and between 20 and 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries. Road traffic crashes are a major cause of death among all age groups and the leading cause of death among those aged 15–29 years.
As per the annual publication ‘Road Accidents in India-2017’ released by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, in total 4,64,910 road accidents took place causing 1,47,913, road traffic deaths and 4,70,975 injuries in the year 2017. This means that on a daily basis 1,273 accidents took place and 405 Persons were killed on Indian Roads.
“All avenues - be it road design, licensing, driving skills, traffic management, vehicle design, policing, enforcement etc. need to be addressed through a strong and comprehensive Road Safety legislation immediately,” said Surinder Verma, chairman, Citizen Awareness Group.
He said, “This road safety bill promised by the government is yet to see the light of day. We are requesting the government to pass the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2017 in the upcoming winter session of the Parliament. How can our nation become superpower when it is not able to provide even basic sense of safety on the roads? Fast action is required”
India has committed to UN to reduce fatalities by 50% by the year 2020. Through passage of Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill (MVAB) 2017 and its proper implementation by respective State Governments, many lives can be saved, he added.
