Srinagar, March 26: A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates road traffic deaths continue to rise, with an annual 1.35 million fatalities. The WHO Global status report on road safety 2018 highlights that road traffic injuries are now the leading killer of children and young people aged 5-29 years.

“These deaths are an unacceptable price to pay for mobility,” said KRSF Chairman, Mr. Nasir Ali Khan. “There is no excuse for inaction. This is a problem with proven solutions.

This report is a call for governments and partners to take much greater action to implement these measures.” “We know which interventions work. Strong policies and enforcement, smart road design, and powerful public awareness campaigns can save millions of lives over the coming decades, Mr. Khan added.”

Today we are organizing the Pre Launch of 5th UN Global Road Safety Week 2019 which will start on May 06 to May 12 2019. After the Pre Launch team KRSF will be organizing Road Safety Workshops/Events/Seminars/On Road Activities across Kashmir Valley to spread the message of Saving Lives.

The objective of these events will be to sensitize a population base of approximately 2000000 people across our state by means of on ground and online promotion. Through this entire campaign KRSF intends to establish 20 Road Safety Clubs in 20 Higher Secondary Schools in collaboration with Director School Education Kashmir which will have 2000 registered road safety volunteers.

The WHO Global status report on road safety 2018 documents that despite an increase in the overall number of deaths, the rates of death relative to the size of the world population have stabilized in recent years. This suggests that existing road safety efforts in some middle- and high-income countries have mitigated the situation.

The Pre Launch of 5th UN Global Road Safety Week 2019 was officially launched at S.P Higher Secondary School M.A Road Srinagar by Mayor of Srinagar Mr. Junaid Azim Mattu in presence of Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Mr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary and Director School Education Kashmir Mr. Mohammad Younis Malik.

With this Campaign a National Campaign for Road Safety “1 CRORE HAATH SAATH SAATH” was also launched that will have the First Ever Human Chain Event in Kashmir Valley which is an initiative taken by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways GOI, Indian Alliance of NGO’s for Road Safety New Delhi and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

“Road safety is an issue that does not receive anywhere near the attention it deserves – and it really is one of our great opportunities to save lives around the world,” said Chief Guest of the Event Mayor Of Srinagar Mr. Junaid Azim Mattu.

Mr. Mattu said that In the settings where progress has been made, it is largely attributed to better legislation around key risks such as speeding, drinking and driving, and failing to use seat-belts, motorcycle helmets and child restraints; safer infrastructure like sidewalks and dedicated lanes for cyclists and motorcyclists; improved vehicle standards such as those that mandate electronic stability control and advanced braking; and enhanced post-crash care.