VIJAYAWADA: Additional Transport Commissioner (ATC) SAV Prasada Rao said that the department will make use of social media to make every individual feel responsible and strictly adhere to road safety norms. He participated as a chief guest at the valedictory session of the month-long 32nd National Road Safety Awareness Campaign held at the RTA office here on Wednesday. Speaking after launching the Facebook page designed by the Krishna district transport officials on road safety, Prasada Rao underscored the need to sensitise public on road safety through social media to curb road accidents.
Steps are being taken to reduce fatalities by raising awareness on road safety in coordination with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and government departments, he said. On an average, every year 8,000 people die due to road accidents in the district and the number reduced to 7,000 last year during Covid-19 pandemic. Every individual should obey traffic rules and parents should not give vehicles to their children without a valid driving licence from the department. Nearly 71 per cent of road accidents across the country are due to overspeeding, he explained.
According to statistics, around 5 lakh road accidents are reported in India every year, of which 1.5 lakh people are dying, 3 lakh people are sustaining injuries and some of them are losing their limbs and other body parts, Rao informed.Deputy Transport Commissioner (DTC) M Purendra said that the month-long road safety awareness campaign was organised to sensitise the public on road safety measures.
As a part of the campaign, awareness sessions were conducted at various educational institutions and road safety pledge was administered to them. Workshops were also organised to create awareness among the public on the amendents made to Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 2019, he said. The Deputy Transport Commissioner said that two-wheelers and four-wheelers should feel responsible and wear a helmet and seat belt while driving.VEEDU NGO representative M Vasu and other officials were also present.