Rajasthan Police and Diageo India collaborate with Institute of Road Traffic Education for a two day Road Safety Programme in Jaipur

16 Feb 2018 | Press release

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Initiative will help build capacity by training 50 Rajasthan Police officers

Jaipur, February 16, 2018: Diageo India (United Spirits), today announced the launch of the Road Safety Capacity Building program for the Rajasthan Police together with the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE). The programme was inaugurated by Mr. O P Galhotra, Director General Of Police; Mr. Janga Srinivas Rao, IPS, ADGP (Traffic), Rajasthan and Dr. Rohit Baluja, President, Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE).

With over 1,45,000 fatalities a year, India accounts for 12.5% of global road accidents, with 1 road accident occurring every four minutes. In 2015 alone, 72% victims in road mishaps were in the age group of 15-44 years and it is estimated that 1.5% of road traffic accidents and 4.6% of fatalities are attributable to drunken driving. According to data by the Police Headquarters, Rajasthan Police, in 2017, the state reported over 22,100 road accidents. In the state there were 10,400 fatalities and over 22,000 serious injuries reported due to these road accidents.

Aimed at achieving higher levels of efficiency and effectiveness, the programme from 16-17 February 2018 in Jaipur, will provide capacity building training to traffic police and transport officers in road accident investigation and traffic management.

Commenting on the initiative, Mrs. Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer, Diageo India, said “The Diageo ‘Road to Safety’ initiative aims to create the necessary impact to address the abysmal state of road safety in our country. By collaborating with the Rajasthan Police and IRTE, we aim to take this programme to greater heights and encourage more people to become champions of road safety.”

Dr. Rohit Baluja, President, Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), said “IRTE is committed to building a right foundation to address the issues of road safety and traffic management in India. I would like to compliment and congratulate the Rajasthan Police and Diageo India for having taken this initiative to undertake the capacity building programme for its police force.”

The Diageo India- IRTE ‘Road to Safety’ initiative is currently in its 4th Year and aims to provide capacity building training to traffic police officials and educate commercial drivers such as truckers and bus drivers and university students on the dangers of drunken driving. Each programme is conducted by an expert panel of faculty of the IRTE. The deliberations include causes and consequences of road accidents, rules of road regulations and understanding traffic control devices.

Since 2014, the programme has trained over 4000 traffic officials in road safety capacity-building, along with 6,000 commercial vehicle drivers and over 5,000 university students in more than 50 cities of 15 states. High quality breath alcohol analysers were donated to police departments of several states.