Experts conducted capacity building training for traffic police and transport officers in road accident investigation and traffic management as part of the Road to Safety Capacity Building programme for the Uttarakhand Police organised by Diageo India with the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE). The three-day programme was inaugurated by Ashok Kumar, State Additional Director General of Police (law and order) at police lines on Thursday.
With over 1, 45,000 fatalities a year, India accounts for 12.5 per cent of global road accidents, with one road accident occurring every four minutes. According to data from the State police headquarters, in 2017, the State reported over 940 fatalities and over 1600 serious injuries due to road accidents.
Commenting on the initiative, Abanti Sankaranarayanan, chief strategy and corporate affairs officer of Diageo India said, “The Diageo Road to Safety initiative aims at creating the necessary impact to address the abysmal state of road safety in our country. By collaborating with the Uttarakhand Police and IRTE, we aim to take this programme to greater heights and encourage more people to become champions of road safety.”
IRTE president Rohit Baluja said that the IRTE is committed to building the proper foundation to address the issues of road safety and traffic management in India.
The Diageo India- IRTE Road to Safety initiative is currently in its fourth year. Since 2014, about 4000 traffic officials have undergone road safety capacity-building, along with 6,000 commercial vehicle drivers and over 5,000 university students