Ongole: Call to follow traffic rules to prevent accidents

Ongole: If people follow the road safety rules with social responsibility, then road accidents can be easily averted, said Prakasam District Collector AS Dinesh Kumar. The Collector participated in the valedictory programme of the Road Safety Month Celebrations-2024 as the chief guest at the Deputy Commissioner Office here on Monday and presented prizes to the students who performed meritoriously in elocution and essay writing competitions.

He presented appreciation certificates to APSRTC and private transport drivers who were not involved in any accidents.

Speaking on the occasion, Collector Dinesh Kumar said that as part of the celebrations, awareness on the road safety rules and guidelines was created among various sections of the people by the transport department, and received their responses and suggestions. He said that the officials have studied the pattern of accidents across the district for the last two years and are taking measures to prevent the accidents with the help of the other departments. He mentioned that the number of people who died in road accidents in the country last year was 1.68 lakh, which is more than the number of people dying from cancer. He said that the death of the breadwinner of a family in an accident deeply hurts the future of that family. He said that lack of clarity on the road safety rules and the negligent behaviour of the driver are causing more accidents. He said that many accidents may be averted if the drivers keep their vehicles in condition, know the path before starting the journey, estimate the traffic and remember that the lives of the passengers and the future of their families are in their hands.

DTC R Suseela informed that they conducted the 35th Road Safety Month Celebrations were held from January 20 to February 19 this year following the orders of the Union and State governments. She said that they organised awareness campaigns on road safety daily for various sections of the society, and conducted elocution and essay-writing competitions for students.

She said that commendation certificates were presented to APSRTC and private transport drivers in recognition of their zero-accident driving skills.

Additional SP Sridhar Rao observed that fatal road accidents can be prevented by wearing helmets, tightening seat belts, avoiding overspeeding and overloading the vehicle, and taking other precautions.

He said that several accidents can also be prevented by controlling drunk and driving incidents. Ongole Traffic DSP Srinivasa Rao, GGH Ongole superintendent Dr Bhagavan Naik, R&B SE Devanandam, National Highways operations manager Anand Singh and others also advised that by taking road safety precautions, accidents can be prevented.

Later, the Collector administered the road safety oath to the participants in the programme.

The motor vehicle inspectors, transport officials, district lorry owners association members, representatives of various transport companies, drivers of various educational institutions vehicles and students of schools and colleges also participated in the programme.