Indian highways and city roads can be much safer if drivers ply their vehicles with care. With this thought in mind, Drive Smart Drive Safe organised a special day for truck drivers in Delhi to make them aware of their responsibilities
Statistics can often be disturbing. Consider, for instance, the fact that out of all those who commute or travel on Indian roads, there are, at an average, at least 400 people who meet a fatal end. It is indeed a deplorable situation and one that calls for immediate attention and correction. In this scenario, truck drivers can play a major role in changing the public’s traffic sense. Taking this up as a cause, Drive Smart Drive Safe, an NGO that works in the sphere of promoting road safety, celebrated Driver’s Day on September 17, 2019, in association with Hella India Lighting, an automobile headlight manufacturer. The event was held at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, New Delhi, and comprised a series of activities that were organised for the commercial heavy vehicle drivers.
First and foremost, a basic health check-up was conducted for the drivers by doctors from Manipal Hospital, Dwarka. This consisted of a preliminary check of blood pressure, blood sugar, bone density and body mass index (BMI). In addition, the drivers were shown some basic life support and saving procedures in case of any road-related emergency. A session was also conducted by the Delhi Traffic Police with an officer explaining the new amendments of the Motor Vehicle Act and the penalties which have come into force from September 1, 2019. It also focused on the challenges that drivers face on a day-to-day basis.
Drive Smart Drive Safe also organised a human chain with the drivers taking a pledge to drive safely and avoid accidents. The drivers also promised to be self-disciplined and work towards improving their behaviour within their own ecosystem.
Speaking on the occasion, Rama Shankar Pandey, Managing Director, Hella India Lighting, said: “Drivers are not given their due respect in our community although they form the backbone of moving goods that are necessary for our survival. This is partly due to an unfortunate mindset in society that disproportionately rewards white collar jobs over skilled jobs and also due to inadequately skilled drivers. We need to help and respect our truck drivers so that they help us to be safe on our roads.”