MG Motor India has partnered the Haryana government and Trax NGO to train teachers and educate students across 200 schools in Gurgaon and Faridabad on the importance of road safety over the next year.

The initiative titled ‘Road Safety and Juniors Programme’, which will focus on disseminating road safety awareness to over 300,000 school students to make Indian roads safe and secure for everyone, is aimed primarily at government schools. 

Senior officials and dignitaries from various government departments including transport, roads and traffic police attended the event held today on the eve of Children’s Day at the Senior Government Senior Secondary School in Chakkarpur, Gurgaon.

Addressing the students on the occasion, Dhanpat Singh, ACS – Transport Department, Haryana, said, “Road safety is the need of the hour and children, who represent India’s future, need to be educated about road safety mannerisms so that they can inculcate road safety habits among their peer group and their parents, to ensure a better tomorrow.”

The Road Safety and Juniors initiative will last for one year across the Gurgaon and Faridabad region, which will see a two-month long training programme for the teachers as well as for the students of each of the 200 schools. The road safety programme modules include training on the social impact of road crashes, necessity of inculcating road safety habits while walking on the road, basic knowledge of road infrastructure and the role of bystanders in the case of a road crash, among other things.

The unique feature about the initiative is that even children will be encouraged to become 'First Respondents' in the case of an accident, bringing the case to higher authorities and help organise immediate medical aid to the victims.

Rajeev Chaba, president and MD, MG Motor India, said: "Even before introducing our vehicles to the market, we have started promoting road safety through a rigid and long-term collaboration with Trax by powering the Road Safety and Juniors Programme across schools in the Haryana region. The initiative will look at enhancing the understanding of more than 300,000 school students in 200 schools around road safety and the necessary road mannerisms that can make Indian roads much more safe and secure for all. The overarching goal should be to eventually make the initiative mandatory for all schools in Haryana, with the support of the concerned stakeholders.”

MG Motor and Trax will also look at inculcating key stakeholder partnerships to give a greater boost to the campaign. The stakeholders in the initiative will include officials and representatives from the Traffic Police, Transport Department, Health Department, the Municipal Corporation, Department of Education and various schools.

Anurag Kulsheshtra, president, Trax, said: “The traffic safety and first respondent training programme aims to inculcate good traffic manners in children for a better future. The programme will last for a year with a target of influencing different schools in Gurgaon and Faridabad imparting a two-month long training to teachers and students.”

MG Motor India says as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, it is focused towards addressing the key areas of road safety, health and environment. It also has a gender-balanced workforce with 30 percent of its employees being women. This percentage, it claims, is the highest in the automotive industry in India.