Safe News :: SIAM

In view of the ever increasing menace of road accidents in Tamil Nadu and India, Society for Automotive Fitness and Environment (SAFE) organized a Seminar on Road Safety for ALL coinciding with its Annual General Meeting.

Speaking on the occasion Mr K N Nehru, Hon’ble Transport Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, said “We are also committed to make our Roads Safer through better road engineering”.

Dr K R Shyamsundar, Additional Director General of Police responsible for the State Traffic Planning Cell said “We need to change the attitude the vehicle driver and practice self restraint.”

Mr R Sivakumar, Transport Commissioner, Government of Tamil Nadu said that SAFE, which is an initiative of SIAM, and their members need to promote the cause of road safety and not limit to showing their performance by selling huge number of vehicles.

“SAFE has been working closely with several state Governments across the country and we would like to continue to do our bit in reducing the causes of road fatalities” said Mr K N Krishnamurthy, President, SAFE.

The seminar on “Safety for All” saw experts from Shell, Hero Honda, Ashok Leyland, Institute of Road Transport, Chennai and 3M shared their best practices which could be adopted by various industries in this collaborative effort. Mr Nic Fasci and expert from Vehicle Certification Agency, UK also shared the trends in technological developments that is taking place in various parts of the country to make automobile much safer than it was in the past.

SAFE is an initiative of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) with representatives from NGOs, Test Agencies and Industry. SIAM is an apex national body representing all major vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers and works for sustainable development of the automobile industry and plays a proactive role in promoting clean environment and road safety.

Safety for Society

The challenge that we face is the fact that while the road space has remained constant, vehicle sales are increasing and the number of vehicles on the road has gone up. There is a need for Government, Industry, society and other stakeholders to address the human aspect of this problem. This was the proposition put forward by Mr Sunil Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police, (Traffic ) Government of Tamil Nadu

After the presentations and the intervention made by the Tamil Nadu Tourist Taxi operators the following points emerged:

The voluntary code of conduct proposed by Shell and supported by CII and SIAM could be a model for all operators to adopt and follow. This code covers the Management system, driver management, vehicle management and journey management.
The manufacturers of vehicles could follow the practice of Hero Honda to inculcate safety habits in buyers of vehicles, as well as, supply safety related equipment to buyers.
For all establishments that have or employ transport fleets, the SAFE – Hero Honda model of Project Safe, under which all drivers are given training, have a health check up, given identity cards, and a system to report incidents and crashes could be put in place.
Occupants and drivers of vehicles should not wait till tragedy strikes but start using seat belts and helmets.
The Ashok Leyland model of driver training needs to be expanded, and the entire process of driver training reviewed with an independent audit system to be put in place. Mandatory requirement of training, before renewal of driver license as in New Delhi should be considered. RTO’s and driving license issuing offices should be computerized and networked to avoid the issuance of multiple driver licenses to one driver.
An Inspection and Certification system needs to be put in place to certify road worthiness of vehicles, and only mechanically fit vehicles should be allowed on the road. Till such time, a voluntary system of an incentivised vehicle retirement policy, should be put into place. The vehicle operators proposed a 15 year cut off, as the age of the vehicle.
Nation wide campaign to improve safety awareness including, in schools and cinema halls, should be started.
While automobile manufacturers are supplying helmet and seat belts with vehicles, there is no enforcement of wearing of these. Enforcement of rules should be stepped up and seat belt and helmet wearing made mandatory. State Governments should not wait for public interest litigation to enforce these laws.
Vehicle owners and drivers and others, should develop a respect for the law and not seek to break laws or influence the process of enforcement.

Safety through Technology

Mr B Bhanot, Chairman, Central Motor Vehicle Rules - Technical Standing Committee, chaired the second session on Safety for Technology. During his address, he said that though the Central Government has notified several requirements for new vehicles like, fitment of seatbelts, supply of a helmet with sale of every two-wheeler; however the same is not enforced by the local state governments.

· He suggested that road safety should not be limited to training of drivers, but should have a holistic approach. There is also a need to improve road markings, and disciplining the non-motorised drivers.

· He also informed that the Central Government is discussing the subject and is considering setting up a safety board for the same.

· Mr S Murugaia, Joint Transport Commissioner, Government of Tamil Nadu said that though several documents have been prepared on road safety, but it is high time that practical implementation of road safety measures is done through combined efforts of drivers, vehicle manufacturers, traffic police and road engineers.

· Mr Nic Fasci from Vehicle Certification Agency, UK, highlighted some of the key regulations which are likely to come up in near future with regard to increasing safety of the new vehicles. He explained the voluntary NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) in Europe, wherein vehicles are rated depending upon their performance during crash tests.

· Mr S Mulliappan of Institute of Road Transport, Chennai, gave a detailed presentation on the various initiatives taken by State Road Transport Undertakings, to reduce accidents of corporation buses.

· Mr Pawan Kumar of 3M made a presentation on the need of increased conspicuity of goods vehicles through use of proper retro-reflective stickers on the vehicles.