Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an international seminar on road safety here, Delhi Education Minister Kiran Walia said the subject could be kept out of basic curriculum, but highlighted the importance of imparting such an education to children.
"I will definitely explore the possibilities in this regard, such as introducing a chapter or something like that... I will have a meeting with my secretary and directors and see how can we do it," she said.
Asked to further elaborate about the possible mechanism, Walia said, "The subject may not necessarily be part of the curriculum, because if you make it part of the curriculum it has to go through so many bodies. So it's a question of giving them (students) the awareness, besides the curriculum."
Observing that aspects of road safety have not received their due importance so far, she said everyone will have to learn about it keeping in mind the increasing traffic on highways and also the city roads.
"We will have to learn how to cross the roads. The traffic is increasing and Delhi has more traffic when put together with Mumbai and Bangalore," she said.
Earlier addressing the conference, the Minister also highlighted the regular cases of road-rage, speeding, accidents and road deaths in the city.
"It is a serious issue. So many people die or are injured on our roads. We need to increase the safety on roads and the only way to do that is to follow rules and make road safety a part of our daily life," she said.
Addressing the conference, Chairman of the International Road Federation K K Kapila said, "India accounts for more than 10 per cent of the global road accidents deaths of 1.3 million. The road fatalities are on constant rise here. In 2011 alone 1.42 lakh road deaths were reported here."
Referring to the data released by Ministry of Road and Highways, he said, "More than 5.11 lakh people were injured in motor accidents in the country last year, which is world's worst safety record."
In terms of loss to the economy, Kapila said, "USD 20 billion was lost last year due to people dying or getting injured in road accidents, which again highlights are our poor concern towards road safety."
Director General in Road and Transport Ministry C Kandaswamy also informed the gathering of the efforts made by the government to improve road construction and engineering in the country.
"We are collaborating with European countries to improve condition of roads and emergency response system with better ambulances. A road safety board is being setup as part of our over all policies," he said.
