People’s help a must for road safety: Gujarat transport commissioner

The commissioner of transport, Gujarat, JP Gupta, is looking for people's partnership at various levels for road safety-education, entrance test and enforcement. 

He said this during the annual convention of Society for Automobile Fitness & Environment (SAFE), an initiative of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), organised at Pride Hotel on Friday.

"We work on the three Es-education, entrance test and enforcement to ensure that people in the city drive safe. With one million vehicles hitting Gujarat roads every year and two lakh vehicles hitting Ahmedabad roads yearly, it is high time we got things right," said Gupta.

He added, "We are imparting education to students in schools about safe driving. From class VIII-XII, subjects related to traffic are included in their curriculum. The schools have also been asked to conduct exams on these topics. In addition, traffic signage has been printed on the cover of their textbooks so that they understand traffic rules and signboards on the roads."

As a pilot project, Gupta and his team have deployed a Traffic Education and Awareness Mobile (TEAM) van in Panchmahal district.

The van is used to showcase films, presentations and various other programmes on safe driving. This year TEAM will be deployed at Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Kutch, among other important districts of the state.