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Remembering lives lost on the road: World Day of Remembrance 2024

India has seen a consistent rise in road crash fatalities, driven by expanding road networks and faster vehicles. In 2023 alone, Tamil Nadu recorded 18,347 road fatalities, with Chennai accounting for 504 of these deaths. Beyond the loss of life, road crashes impose significant economic burdens on victims and their families, including treatment costs, lost productivity, and caregiving time. 

The United Nations established the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDoR) in 2005, designating the third Sunday of November each year as a day to honour those killed or injured on the roads, along with their families, friends, and communities. This initiative is supported globally by governments, international organisations, and various groups focused on road safety. The day encourages citizens to offer their support to victims and their families. The main purpose is to remind both governments and individuals to work towards creating safer roads. The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDoR) 2024 fell on  November 17, 2024, with the theme ‘Remember. Support. Act.’ - a reminder to support those affected by such incidents and inspire action to prevent crashes and address their repercussions.

This year, to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, CAG chose to work with students, with awareness events organised in schools and colleges in 11 districts across Tamil Nadu. Traffic police and RTO officers were invited to speak on the importance of road safety during these gatherings. In addition, an animation video created by CAG was played to highlight the dangers of speeding and the importance of wearing helmets. 

Tr. Srinivasan, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic-North Sub-Division 2, addressing students at the WDoR event at St. Joseph Technical Institute, Chennai.

Young people are particularly vulnerable road users. They have more independence compared to when they were younger, but also still developing brains and decision making systems. This means that as they venture out into communities and gain more independence to commute on their own, they can be a danger both to themselves and other road users, if safe road behaviour is not impressed upon them from an early age. Young people are often influenced by peer pressure while driving. They are also more prone to making impulsive decisions on the road.  Increasingly, even school students have busy commute schedules, where they are required to commute more, often relying on different modes of transport. Teaching them road safety helps them understand their responsibilities - to themselves, their peers, and the community. It will also ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge needed to navigate these systems safely.

The active participation of police personnel at the events ensured that not only were students educated about safe road behaviour, but they were also given an insight into the legal implications of dangerous road behaviour. The traffic police typically used a range of real-life situations and events to help students grasp the legal, financial, and health implications of dangerous / careless driving.  

Poster making competition conducted by the School of Allied Health Sciences, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Salem) in observance of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

All of the events also ended with a pledge led by the police personnel, where students promised to aspire to safer road behaviours. Additionally in the Chennai event, ALERT (an NGO working to empower the common man to act to save lives in case of emergencies) also did a workshop on roadside emergencies and bystander responses that can potentially save lives. The events were covered by numerous media outlets. 

Media coverage of the WDoR events across multiple newspapers

One key aim of the WDoR celebrations is to create meaningful change. While much needs to be done to improve TN’s road safety statistics, wearing protective devices such as helmets is an easy start, and one that is completely within the power of the motorist. To assess helmet usage, CAG conducted a helmet compliance survey across the 11 districts prior to the events. Findings from that district were shared with event participants. The study revealed that Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, and Salem had the highest helmet compliance rates among adults, exceeding 65%. When it comes to helmet compliance among children, Salem and Tirunelveli emerged as the top two areas with over 50% compliance. Overall, adults are more compliant with helmet usage for themselves than for their children. This highlights the necessity to emphasise and raise awareness regarding the use of helmets among all motorists (and with a greater sense of urgency, among child riders). 

The consequences of road accidents are especially harsh for lower and middle-income families, with road crashes costing India approximately 3% of its GDP each year. With the right strategies, many of these tragic events that have had profound repercussions for these families could have been avoided. This day serves as a reminder of our shared responsibility in fostering safer roads. While there is no denying that safer road infrastructure, more investment in public transport networks and better enforcement will help improve our road safety statistics, as drivers and passengers, there are things we can do to protect ourselves and our co-road users from accidents. 

  • Stay vigilant while driving and be mindful of your own actions as well as those of other drivers around you.
  • Avoid making assumptions about how other drivers will behave; don’t presume they will act as you expect.
  • Always use turn signals well in advance when changing lanes or making turns.
  • Adhere strictly to traffic signals and regulations, such as stopping at stop signs and obeying traffic lights.
  • Finally, remember to buckle up. Wearing seat belts and helmets is crucial for the safety of both drivers and passengers.

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