Citizens take to streets to teach road safety

CITIZENS FOR THE CITY

Mumbai: Suburban motorists were in for a surprise on Friday morning when a group of placard-holding citizens greeted them at two junctions in Goregaon (E) and talked to them about road safety measures. The group of 50 odd members, hailing from various walks of life, was permitted by the traffic police to lend them a hand for over three hours. The group tried to convince motorists to wear their helmets and buckle them up instead of hanging them on the rear-view mirrors of their bikes. 

    "We divided ourselves between the MTNL junction and the Oberoi Mall junction. As soon as the signal turned red and motorists halted, we would approach them and talk to them about a few basic rules such as lane discipline, no jumping signals and no speeding," said one of the participants, Hitesh Dharawat, a finance professional. A large number of college students also took part in the initiative. While some motorists were skeptical, most listened patiently. 
    The citizens' group also interacted with pedestrians about prevention of accidents. "Pedestrians talking on the phone while crossing roads or, worse, texting or chatting on their tablets, are likely to cause fatal accidents. We tried to drive home this point on Friday," said Dharawat. The group was out on the streets from 8.30am to noon. 
    Senior inspector Vinayak Mule of the Goregaon (E) traffic outpost said such initiatives need to take place more often and across the city. "It's encouraging to see civilians coming out in our support," he added.

DRIVING HOME A POINT