A ‘Safe Driving’ Pledge

  • Odette Katrak
  • India
  • Mar 20, 2015

India has a dismal record on Road Safety and Gurgaon is among the worst cities on road discipline. Should not every citizen of the City help in improving the situation? Some believe that it is only a job for the cops, and even feel no shame in zipping through red lights and using their mobiles while driving. And many of those who scrupulously follow rules believe that they are too insignificant to matter, and usually end up hugely frustrated at the dismal and deteriorating state of affairs. Dear Gurgaonites, here is a simple initiative targeted at improving Road Safety, wherein you can play your part in making our roads safer. It is a Safe Driving pledge that will take just 3 minutes of your time. This action will help to positively influence change on our roads. I have been passionately involved in the cause of Road Safety for the last 4 ½ years. Rather than just grumbling I decided to do something about it. A behavioural trainer by profession, I refused to give up when others said, ‘get used to it’ or  ‘nothing can be done’. Today I champion the cause of Road Safety as an activist and writer and have been a Road Safety Officer with Gurgaon Traffic Police for the past 4 years. My voluntary efforts have focused on improving Road Safety and helping change behaviour on the road in several different ways - be it through direct interaction with commuters on traffic awareness drives, improvement initiatives, training schoolbus/BPO cab drivers on how their following of rules can help save lives, designing fliers/stickers/banners on Road Safety, or improving the safety of ‘invisible’ cyclists/rickshaws on dark roads through the Light-a-cycle reflector tape project (of which I am a founder member). While I believe that I have done much, I unfortunately do not have as much to show yet. I am grateful that my efforts have found mention on the Satyamev Jayate website: http://www.satyamevjayate.in/road-accidents-or-murders/episode-2article.aspx?uid=s3e2-ar-ps1). 

To get the many good people out of their apathy, we decided on the Road Safety Pledge - a simple affirmative ‘calling for change’ action. Of course  it should be backed by  being a good role model on the road. The points listed in the Pledge provide a good checklist of what is okay and what it not. I do believe that this change can happen (even if slowly at first). In fact I think that we have already reached the ‘tipping point’, wherein enough people are already saying that the situation of and on the roads needs to drasstically change. Some of the comments that people have written on the site, as they sign the Pledge, are chilling. Here is an example: ‘Im signing bcoz i m a true road lover...i was driving under the influence of alchohol...crashed in a truck...did not wear seat belt..broke 2 ribs, banged my forehead in windscreen...head injury, injured the beautiful car badly...now bed ridden...cnt evn move, sneez or cough’. All you need to do is google the site change.org and then type ‘safe driving pledge’ in the search tab to locate and sign the Pledge. Please do share this initiative with others in your networks…and thank you for becoming one. 

The writer is a Road Safety Activist (also Soft-skills Trainer & Writer)

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