Major road safety initiative launched

A major safety initiative was launched today, focussing on reducing the factor of human error in road accidents that claim more than a lakh lives in India annually.
The campaign will see the distribution of stickers on responsible driving across the country in its first leg.
According to official data, with around 1,622 deaths, Delhi topped the charts among the states in terms of road fatalities last year.
Haryana Transport Minister Krishan Lal Panwar along with Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police (Traffic) Garima Bhatnagar released the campaign during the second annual conference on 'Ways to Improve Road Safety' organised in association with industry body ASSOCHAM.

"Road usage is the right of every individual. Rights should not be taken away, rather be bestowed upon," said S L Ahuja, Chairman of Big Boy Toyz, which has initiated the campaign .
In 2015, there were about 5 lakh road accidents in the country, of which 1.46 lakh people were killed, a report released by the Union Road Ministry data says.
"Drivers' fault has been revealed as the single most responsible factor for road accidents, killings and injuries on all roads for a long period of time. Driver's fault accounted for 77 per cent of total accidents in 2015," it says.