The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Task force to submit detailed report soon

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Monday, Jan 08, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Task force to submit detailed report soon

Meera Srinivasan

To ensure road safety for schoolchildren

IN A HURRY: A typical scene of students running desperately to board a city bus. — PHOTO: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI : The task force, appointed by the State Government to ensure road safety for school children, will soon submit a detailed report to the School Education department.

Following several meetings and a State-level seminar held in November, members put forward recommendations and suggestions that were likely to be implemented from the new academic year, Sunil Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic), who heads the task force, told The Hindu

that the State-level task force was constituted last July to study the incidence of fatal road accidents involving school children and draw up a plan to prevent the accident.

The report, which would be ready in a fortnight, would cover aspects such as a uniform colour code for schools buses or vans and a Road Safety Patrol wing in all schools.

At a State-level seminar organised by the task force last November, School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu said an RSP wing could be made mandatory in all schools, if the task force recommended so.

"We intend to involve RSP cadets in our safety campaign regularly. This month, they would be involved in an awareness programme on drunken driving," Mr. Sunil Kumar said.

He said that about 7000 cadets were part of the campaign against using cellular phones while driving.

"The campaign, held last October, has had a good impact. The number of such cases has come down significantly."

According to statistics provided by the State Transport Authority, over 8500 fatal road accidents were recorded in the State in 2005.

The year 2006 was no better.

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