The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Police to train Corporation school students in road safety

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 08, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Police to train Corporation school students in road safety

Staff Reporter

Police officer asks students to be pro-active "If your father or mother engages in a mobile phone talk while driving, discourage them"

CHENNAI: In an effort to get closer to the student community, the city traffic police have drawn up a plan to disseminate the need and importance of road safety among schoolchildren.

Speaking at the "road safety awareness" meet organised under the auspices of Tamil Nadu Police Traffic Wardens' Organisation (Adyar Range), in which teachers and students from various schools participated, Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Sunil Kumar said on Thursday that the police would visit Corporation schools to impart lessons on road safety starting next week.

Appreciating the voluntary gesture made by many schools in the city in coming forward to educate the students on road safety, he said, instead of police imposing fines for traffic violations, it would be effective if the schools pulled them up.

A parent may pay Rs.50 or even Rs.500 as fine when caught under a specific charge by the traffic police, but it would be viewed more seriously when the schools objected to it, he suggested.

Similarly, he stressed the need to discourage children arriving in overloaded autorickshaws. It would be the responsibility of the schools to educate and offer counselling to the parents about the risk taken by them. Mr. Kumar wanted the students to be pro-active in road safety activities. If your father or mother engages in a mobile phone conversation while driving, discourage them, he said.

At least 50 per cent of road mishaps fatalities reported in the city were due to victims not wearing helmets.

In over 40 per cent of the mishaps, a two-wheeler was involved, he noted.

The police would hold similar meetings with all school children with the help of Traffic Wardens among other like-minded associations, he said and hoped road safety was assured to all road users.

Chief Traffic Warden Harish L Metha, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Prabhakar among others participated.

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