After three books and a mobile van to educate road users on traffic rules, now comes a music album to sensitize drivers on the risks of reckless steering. Rajasthan Motor Vehicle Inspectors Association under its ongoing efforts on Road Safety Education and Awareness Mission have launched a Rajasthani music album ‘Driver Kehna Mano Re..’ to spread awareness among the truck drivers against reckless driving and importance of abiding traffic rules. The album has seven songs, each focusing on fatalities when traffic rules are violated. Veerendra Singh Rathore, President of the association and a DTO posted at Rajsamand has been the man behind the mission who has dedicated much of the last two and a half years of his service in educating and equipping road users to become safe and responsible.It is the success of the awareness programs that road accidents have reported to have reduced by 40% this year in Rajsamand. Born in a farmer’s family in Singawal village of Bhinai in Ajmer, Rathore began his career from Border Security Force in 1995-96 and subsequently joined the Transport Department. He too, had been one of the many other officers in the department, focusing primarily on the revenue collection and service providing aspects of his duty, until in 2012 when in a road accident at Bhilwara, his 23-year-old brother-in-law was killed. His father-in-law Amar Singh Chouhan encouraged Rathore to dedicate his service for road safety. With three books on road safety to his credit, Rathore was the man who started an awareness program through a mobile van which has completed 450 camps in various towns and cities sensitizing more than 50 thousand people on road safety. “The aim of my mission is to sensitize road users by campaigns, educational literature, motivational talks and training programs on road safety” he said. Sardar Patel University of Police, security and criminal justice, Jodhpur has acknowledged Rathore’s contribution by publishing 60 thousand copies of one of his book titled ” Road to road safety”. Honored with the State Merit Award, Rathore has been awarded many times for his excellent contribution in the field. Inspired by the overwhelming response of the mobile van, the transport department has planned to launch similar vans in all the seven divisions of the state in association with the education and Panchayati Raj departments. Having gained a certificate as an International Road Safety Expert from the Hasselt University, Belgium, Rathore is presently, undergoing Ph.d in Road Safety Law from Mohanlal Sukhadia University .   Fatalities on Road

• In India 1.38 lac people die and 10 lac are injured every year
• 1 road accident takes place every minute and 1 person is killed every 4 minutes
• In Rajasthan 9000 people die and 30,000 get injured every year
• Road accidents take lives equivalent to 5 tsunamis without notice
• In 2012, total 9528 people were killed of the 22,969 road accidents in Raj

  Contributed by: Geetha Sunil Pillai