PROJECT: ROYAL RAJASTHAN CAMPAIGN “SAFETY IS ROAYALTY” BY AADHAR FOUNDATION

AIM: The aim of the project is to raise 10 lakh road safety volunteers all over Rajasthan in next 5 years and bring about 10% reductions in road accidents every year.

THEME: “ROAD SAFETY IS ROYALTY”

BACKGROUND: Rajasthan, area wise (342,239 sq. km) is the biggest state of the country. It has a population of 68.6 million and located in the western region. Rajasthan is lagging in many key socio-economic indicators and is one of the low income states. Rajasthan stands at 17th out of 29 states of the country in terms of human development index. About 75 percent of the state’s population is rural and mainly depends on agriculture for its livelihood. The state has good potential of growth in agriculture and agro-based industries, mining, minerals processing, tourism, handicrafts and cottage industries. Rajasthan has a state road network of 193,017 km including 7,260 km National Highway (NH), 10,953 km State Highway (SH), 9,900 km Major District Roads (MDR), 25,033 km Other District Roads (ODR) and 139,871 km Village Rural Roads (VRR).

In August 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 74/299 “Improving global road safety”, proclaiming the decade of action for road safety 2021-2030, with the ambitious target of preventing at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said his target is to reduce the number of road accidents by 50 per cent before 2024 and that efforts are also being made to improve quality of roads throughout the nation. The ministry is striving hard to reduce road accident deaths by reconstructing and strengthening four ‘E’s’ of road safety—Engineering, Economy, Enforcement and Education.

He also suggested that corporate world should carry out independent surveys to identify the reasons behind the accidents and a report may be submitted to the ministry. Cooperation of NGOs and social organisations and universities is also needed for education and awareness.

In year 2020-2021, the ministry allocated Rs 379 crore towards road transport and safety. Road safety management will support the strengthening of road safety management systems in rajasthan with the objective of reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries from traffic accidents in the state. This will be accomplished through:

• Safe Corridor demonstration program (SCDP)
  1. International Road Assessment Program (IRAP) surveys financed by the Government of Rajasthan (GoR) on some major state roads with high volume and high risk.
  2. Multi-sector road safety interventions on selected road corridors.
• Establishing a multi-sector road safety strategy through:
1. Incorporating safe system principles.
2. Select policy review (such as Crash Test Investigation training for police) for the state.
• Road safety education and awareness program.
• Road safety audits in rural and urban areas.
• Support to the state’s other stakeholder departments on procurement of some road safety equipment and related training under same ongoing initiatives.

Aadhar foundation trust wants to run Adhar Royal Rajasthan Campaign (ARRC). The objective of the project is to enhance road safety and reduce fatalities in road accident. The objective will be achieved through implementing six components namely:

(a) Aadhar road safety training and awareness program (ARSP)
(b) Training of Trainers (ToT)
(c) Raising and honouring Good Samaritans to promote good Samaritan law: instigating the feeling in each and every individual “I can save a life, lives depends on me”
(d) Aadhar Saarthi “Wheels of India” Drivers’ training program
(e) Aadhar Quick Rescue Team (AQRT) installing road safety cells in high traffic zones and black spots
(f) Aadhar life saving stickers.