IRTE and Diageo India conduct ‘Towards Responsible Youth’, A Road Safety training programme for Jaipur University Students”

20 Nov 2019 | Press release

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Over 300 students went through an intensive workshop on Road Safety Legislation and Defensive driving

The Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) and Diageo India, today, announced the launch of the - “Towards Responsible Youth” Road Safety training programme, for students of Manipal University in Jaipur. This is the first training programme in the state and the third in the country. The programme was inaugurated in the august presence of Dr Rohit Baluja, President, Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) and Dr Gurdaman Lal Sharma Prof & Director, Dr. Shiva Prasad H C as Director of School of Automobile, Mechanical and Mechatronics, Manipal University Jaipur (SAMM) and Dean Students Welfare (DSW), Manipal University; Prof (Dr) Jagannath Korody ,Dean- Faculty of Engineering (FOE), Manipal University and Dr. Shiva Prasad, Director, SAMM, Manipal University

According to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), in India, over 1,48,778 road fatalities have taken place in 2018 as compared to 1,47,913 in 2017. In Jaipur, a total of 813 fatalities took place due to road accidents in 2017 as compared to 890 in 2016. The number of road accident in Jaipur was 2983 in the year 2017 compared to 3004 in 2016.

 With the objective to reduce road fatalities and attaining higher levels of effectiveness, the programme attempted to bring a formal and structured training for youth eligible to apply for learner’s license. The programme covered important subjects including defensive driving, road traffic legislation, ill effects of driving under the influence of alcohol etc. It also involved students participating in workshops and interesting quizzes on the theme of road safety.

Speaking on the initiative, Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer, Diageo India, said “Diageo India’s ‘Road to Safety’ initiative aims to create the necessary impact to address the appalling state of road safety in our country. Our collaboration with IRTE to train the youth of today will help us resolve the menace of road fatalities and promote road safety amongst the students. It is extremely important for today’s younger generation to be aware about road safety and educate them through a strong training programme.”

Dr. Rohit Baluja, President, Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), said, “Road Safety is the pillar of a well-organized and safe traffic management system. It has always been our mission to lend our support towards development of need-based training programmes across the county. Awareness amongst the youth about road accidents and its consequences is paramount, and this training programmes conducted for university students will help them be trained for a better tomorrow towards road safety and responsible driving. I would like to congratulate the students of Manipal University and thank Diageo India for having supported this initiative”

The training programme witnessed participation of over 300 students ranging from age group of 19 years- 22 years.  The Diageo India- IRTE ‘Road to Safety’ initiative is currently in its 5th year. Each programme is conducted by an expert panel of faculty of the IRTE. Since 2014, the programme has trained over 5020 police officials and 10,445 other participants which include Navy Officers, Engineers, Transport Officers, Commercial Vehicle Drivers and School Teachers. The training programme have massively taken place in 22 states & Union Territories and 65 cities till date.