‘Wrong Side Of The Road’: Goa Rolls Out Road Safety Course For Licence Seekers

Goa launches "Wrong Side of The Road," a 45-minute road safety program for new and renewing license applicants to reduce accidents by promoting safe driving and highlighting drunk driving risks.

State’s transport department, 300-350 people die due to road accidents in Goa every year.

Source : ABP Live

Panaji, June 6 (PTI) The Goa government has introduced a mandatory orientation programme on road safety for citizens seeking a new driving licence in the state, a move aimed at stemming motor accidents and fatalities, officials have said.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launched the programme recently amid a rise in the number of road deaths in the coastal state, they said.

According to data from the state's transport department, 300-350 people die due to road accidents in Goa every year. Many of these cases concern rash driving.

The 45-minute-long orientation programme has been introduced in collaboration with social impact organisations BharatCares and CSR Box, and Diageo India, officials said.

Project coordinator Dhanraj Chouhan, who is from BharatCares, told PTI Videos that the programme has been aptly named ‘Wrong Side of The Road’ (WSOTR). It has been implemented across all seven Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in the state, he said.

“WSOTR is more than just a road safety programme. It is a behavioural change movement. Through immersive and tech-enabled modules, we are helping citizens understand the real dangers of being on the wrong side of the road and also drunk driving,” he said.

His organisation has established more than 85 road safety labs across the country, said Chouhan.

Assistant Director of Transport Department, Oswin E Carvalho, said the orientation programme is mandatory for citizens seeking a fresh learner’s licence as well as those coming for renewal of their driving licences.

In this programme, candidates are informed about the use of safety belts and helmets, and how to drive and be safe on roads, he said. Licence seekers are also given updates about new road signs.

He said that the information is given in Marathi, English, and Hindi, with each brief lasting 15 minutes.

Bhushan Gaonkar of Chorao village underwent the orientation at the RTO in Panaji on Wednesday.

“It is a good initiative by the government. They educated people about the ill effects of drunk driving,” he said. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)