WHO launches road safety campaign in Hyderabad
Focus on drive against drunken driving and saving lives
Hyderabad, 12th December 2012: The World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office for India and the Ministry of Health, Government of India today launched a multi-media campaign against drunken driving in Hyderabad and Cyberabad with support from the city’s local departments of police, health and transport.
In her message at the launch of the campaign, Dr Nata Menabde, WHO Representative to India, said, “We call for greater action towards prompting a culture of responsible driving in our society to save lives on the roads.”
Kick-starting the month long multi-media awareness generation campaign, DCP (traffic) Mr Ramakrishna, flagged off a specially designed vehicle aimed at sensitizing the general public about ills of drunken driving. The vehicle - a car, which has been in an accident - was wrapped in a way to give the effect of a newspaper having messages/news clips communicating the adverse effects of drunken driving. Moving across the city, it will stop at vantage points including wine shops and distribute pamphlets based on the design of this vehicle to reiterate the key message of the campaign.
As part of the awareness campaign, the internationally renowned 48 Hour Film Project is inviting filmmakers from Hyderabad to make short films on the theme, “Do Not Drink and Drive.” The participants have to complete the films in just two days, and they will be used to create greater awareness through social media forums as well as on-ground activities like screenings. The competition will be held on the weekend of 21-23 December and is open to all, amateurs and professional filmmakers.
Targeting the young drivers, the campaign encourages responsible driving. Speaking about the project Mr Ramakrishna said, “The Police Department has been very active with the enforcement drive against drunken driving and we are delighted to support this initiative. It will bring about greater awareness about road safety and the risks of drunken driving, and thereby save lives.”
“I am happy that the mass media campaign will be accompanied by on-ground activities, and outdoor exposure through hoardings, bus panels and cinemas. This will make the campaign more effective,” he further added.
The pilot project is part of RS 10, a road safety initiative in ten countries. In India, the RS 10 project started in April 2010, and the first phase was completed in December 2011 in the cities of Hyderabad and Jalandar (Punjab).
The RS 10 project is an important initiative launched under the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, which covers more than 100 countries, with one goal: to prevent five million road traffic deaths globally by 2020. The campaign against drunken driving is being carried out in coordination with the consortium partners Global Road Safety Partnership and Johns Hopkins University.
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