Mission Possible, says Chennai as traffic cops’ Zero Accident Day campaign ends; let's do it often
One just has to look at the accident data and the general lack of road safety sense to understand how the odds were stacked against the campaign
Chennai Traffic Police conducts flash mobs on Zero Accident Day
CHENNAI: What IIT-M proposed was a mighty challenge, but Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) took it up and prevailed as their Zero Accident Day (ZAD) campaign was successful with no fatal accidents recorded on Monday (Aug 26).
The odds were stacked against the campaign considering the accident statistics over the years and the general road sense or the lack thereof.
In 2021, Chennai recorded the second highest number of fatal road accidents in the country - 998, accounting for 7.5 per cent of total deaths due to road accidents among the 53 mega cities considered by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
ALSO READ: Greater Chennai Traffic Police urge Chennaiites to make August 26 a ‘Zero Accident’ day
Though GCTP’s operational jurisdiction shrunk after trifurcation into Tambaram and Avadi Police commissionerates, there is no escaping the fact that we are no flag bearers of safe driving.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), R Sudhakar, while launching the campaign on August 6 expressed skeptical optimism, but hoped that his team and the people of Chennai would pull through. “This is Chennai’s event. So, every Chennaiite must come together for this. I am apprehensive, but I also have the confidence,” Sudhakar had said.
As part of this initiative, GCTP’s personnel conducted outreach programmes for 20 days since the launch of the campaign. They conducted meetings and awareness programmes with MTC personnel, cab drivers, delivery agents, and auto drivers and coordinated with Resident Welfare Associations to drive home their “Zero is Good” campaign every day.
Besides the traditional methods like banners pronouncing “Zero is Good” across the city, they made good use of social media to reach the youth. They even roped in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players to create awareness apart from engaging film celebrities like Actor Prashanth and directors Pradeep Ranganathan, and Vignesh Shivan to spread the message.
“The heart symbol in traffic signals, especially, was a hit among the youth and we received several positive messages about it. We are glad that there was a discussion about our campaign,” a senior police officer said.
The police stated that their aggressive campaign has also shown results in the reduction of fatal accidents and accidents involving grievous injuries in August this year, compared to the same period last year.
“A total of 28 fatalities were reported to date since the beginning of this month in comparison to 41 fatal accidents in the corresponding period of 2023. This amounts to a 31.7 per cent reduction in fatal accidents,” an official statement said.
Further, in August 2024, a total of 56 accidents with grievous injuries were reported as against 146 accidents reported last year in the same period. This amounts to a reduction of 90 accidents leading to a 61.6 per cent fall in grievous accidents directly correlating the shift of accidents from grievous to simple injuries because of adherence to traffic rules, police said.
According to GCTP, there have been six Zero Accident Days since the start of the campaign including August 26 (Monday). “There were four minor accidents on August 26. Though they were non-fatal, we would have been happier if it was a clean slate,” the officer said.
The catalyst for the campaign, Professor Venkatesh Balasubramaniam of IIT-Madras Centre for Excellence for Road Safety, proposed Chennai Police take up the challenge.
Feeling elated about the positive impact of the campaign, the professor said, “The period of the last 21 days has proved that there has been a mindset change and we are happy about it. This mindset change should transform into a movement. Speaking to DT Next, the professor, whose team has been working with the police and MTC for several years in addressing road safety issues, said that the only way such campaigns work long-term is with people’s participation. “It should be public-driven, not police driven. Compliance is more important than enforcement.”
The professor also emphasised that activity-based learning about road safety in schools will help in spreading awareness as the kids can influence their family members too in safe driving. “We are already trying it in five districts in and around Chennai and I strongly believe education plays an important role in reaching a large mass,” Professor Venkatesh said.
