ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PROGRAM: A MASSIVE RURAL OUTREACH INITIATIVE (Paper 919)

India facing a road epidemic has observed certain initiatives in recent times to curb the growing menace on roads. To this effect, Rajasthan has initiated a comprehensive program to curb road crashes and resulting fatalities and injuries. The Rajasthan Road Sector Modernization Project (RRSMP), funded by the World Bank, is underway with the objective of improving road connectivity, strengthening road sector management capacity and enhancing road safety. The Road safety education and awareness program under road safety component aims to educate the rural masses of the entire State on road safety norms, rules, road behavior and pre-hospital trauma care.
Through this program three targeted groups of rural Rajasthan, namely the villagers, school children, truck/bus drivers are being sensitized. Through this initiative, one day awareness program in all the 9755 Gram panchayat Head Quarters (HQs) (local self-government organisation at the village level) and 295 Panchayat samitis (local government at the intermediate level), road safety training at 700 Schools and Bus/Truck driver training program at 495 locations in the State is being done. This program also focusses on capacity building of certain NGOs and therefore these NGOs have been engaged for its implementation. 
One of the significant aspects of the campaign is the selection and training of atleast 10-15 volunteers in each Gram Panchayat for the sustainability of this program resulting in more than One lakh volunteers. This program is one of its kind with a magnitude not attempted anywhere in the country so far.