The National Service Scheme (NSS) Wing of the Uttaranchal University organized a Traffic Awareness Campaign in association with Traffic Police, Dehradun, Uttarakhand on November 11, 2019 in UIM Seminar Hall. Mr. Prakash Chandra (Superintendent of Police, Traffic and Crime, Dehradun), Mr. Rajpal Singh Rawat (Inspector, Traffic), Mr. Rajeev Rawat (Inspector, Traffic) and Mr. Pradeep Kumar were the keynote speakers. The dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri. Jitender Joshi (Chancellor, Uttaranchal University), Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Suri (Director, UIM) and Dr. Anshul Sharma (HOD, Management).
Mr. Rakesh Semwal (Coordinator), Mr. V.K. Tangri, Mr. Praveen Saini, the Members of NSS and Mr. Ravindra Singh Rawat (Head – Cultural & Academic Affairs of UIM) played a vital role in the conduct of the event.
At the outset, Shri. Jitender Joshi felicitated the Chief Guest Mr. Prakash Chandra followed by the felicitation of Shri Jitender Joshi by Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Suri.
Mr. Shivendra Singh Chaudhary, MOC of the event, welcomed the dignitaries and briefed the audience regarding the event and its significance. In 2017, 4.64 lac road accidents took place claiming over 1.47 lac lives across the country. Therefore, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed in September, 2019. Under the Act heavy fines were imposed for driving without license or helmet, drunken driving, over speeding etc., not for raising high revenue but in order to reduce road accident.
Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Suri addressed the audience and informed that the objective of the event was to ensure road safety through sensitizing the concept of safe driving among people and related issues. He stated that we have the highest road accidents and we also have the highest number of young people in the world. Does it have correlations? The youths indulge in rash driving endangering the lives of others as well as themselves. He advised that we should start early and keep a margin of time to drive cautiously and safely.
Mr. Rajpal Rawat (Inspector, Traffic), informed the audience that their department is aiming to reduce the causalities due to road accidents by half till 2020. There are around 9,88,000 vehicles in Dehradun and more than 30 lac vehicles in Uttarakhand. Our road accidents are 6 times more than those of USA.
Mr. Pradeep Kumar (Inspector – CPU, Traffic) explained the significance of road signs and signals which are termed as the language of the road. He asked one and all to learn them and respect them. He further told that the round symbols indicate mandatory rules; the triangle symbols signify cautionary rules and rectangle symbols are informatory. He emphasized upon wearing of seat belts in four wheelers.
Mr. Prakash Chandra (Superintendent of Police, Traffic and Crime Dehradun) described the ten golden rules of traffic safety through a PowerPoint presentation. Pamphlets illustrating Ten Golden Rules were distributed among the students by the Traffic Police Team. The event culminated with ‘Votes Of Thanks’ proposed by Mr. Shivendra Singh Chaudhary.
