Pune Traffic Police launches awareness campaign to curb speeding by motorists

Pune Police, in technical collaboration with global health institution ‘Vital Strategies’, a partner under Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), has launched a new mass media campaign warning motorists about the ill effects of speeding. The campaign was launched after speeding was found to be the primary cause of accidents on roads across the country.

As per further information shared by Pune Traffic Police, during the four-week campaign from November 21, the Pune City Police will increase enforcement measures on the city’s roads, especially during the night and early hours.

A 2022 road cash data analysis by the city police revealed that Pune city has the highest number of fatal road accidents between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am and out of a total of 327 deaths, 75 deaths occurred between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am. During this time vehicles speed up unknowingly on empty roads leading to fatal road accidents.

The Pune District Road Safety Committee under the chairmanship of District Collector Pune has supported the campaign.

As a part of the campaign, Collector Dr Rajesh Deshmukh and Pune City Police Commissioner Ritesh Kumar launched a 30 second Public Service Announcement and complementary outdoor and digital media placement in all cinema halls across Pune city. In this, the heartbreaking true story of Sanjay Narkar, who lost his 24-year- old son in a road accident, is shown. In this, Sanjay Narkar describes the effects of speeding and the impact on a family of the death of a family member.

“In the last few years, road speeding has emerged as a causative factor in fatal and serious injuries that sometimes even permanently disable the victims. Apart from affecting the victims, such sudden deaths in road accidents also cripple the family emotionally and financially” says Pune City Police Commissioner Ritesh Kumar.

“It is a common misconception that vehicles do not speed in cities or urban areas, when the roads are relatively empty they invite speeding and accidents which lead to increase in the number of road fatalities. Hence, it is important to prevent speeding above the regulated speed limit. Through this campaign, we aim to reduce vehicle speeds for the safety of everyone” says Vijayakumar Magar, Deputy Commissioner of Pune Traffic Police.

Pune Police will increase enforcement to deal with incidents of speeding vehicles at important intersections and high-risk areas. From 2022, Pune city traffic department officials, trained through 14 training sessions under Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, will participate.

Through this campaign, Pune Police commemorated the people who lost their lives in road accidents on the occasion of World Day of Remembrance for Road Victims (WDOR). WDOR is commemorated globally on the third Sunday of November every year and is an important tool in the global effort to reduce road accidents.

Shreyas Vange