It is a 20-day comprehensive road safety campaign aiming to achieve zero road accidents, improve road safety awareness among drivers & promote responsible driving practices.

Every year, the country loses an average of 1,50,000 people to road accidents, of whom 25% of people are under 25 years old and 89% of people are under 60 years old, say sources from COERS.

Work with GCTP

COERS is working with the Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) on multiple capacity and capability improvement programs.

As many as 69 investigating officers (IOs) have been upskilled in performing scientific crash investigations to identify the root causes of the crashes, say sources from COERS.

A total of 40 children and 80 schoolteachers and parents were introduced to gamified activity-based learning of road safety to improve their knowledge and cognition on being an informed road user, say sources from COERS.

Inauguration

The awareness campaign for ‘Zero Accident Day ‘(ZAD) was inaugurated at the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) Depot by Thiru R Sudhakar, IPS, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), GCTP.

Others present were, Dr Alby John Varghese, IAS, Managing Director, Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), Professor Venkatesh Balasubramanian, Head, COERS, IIT Madras.

Also present were, Bandi Gangadhar, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (Traffic) South, P Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (Traffic) North, and V Baskaran, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (Traffic) East.

In Addition, GCTP has engineered several initiatives at community level, such as engaging the vibrant youth as stakeholders, by means of a reel making competition, and several flash mobs are part of the campaign, say sources from COERS.

Programmes are also underway to engage other sections of society including sensitising e-commerce platforms and their staff, IT firms, and engagements with hospitals, auto-rickshaw drivers, residential associations and slums.

Activities to incentivise compliance with road rules such as traffic signal, seatbelts, helmets and stop line programmes are also a part of Zero Accident Day campaign.

Director

Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “At IIT Madras, we believe in providing solutions to everyday problems that plague our society.

Road safety is matter of vital importance, given its long-term implications on the socio-economic status of accident victims, he said.

Bringing down road crash fatalities is a crucial step in increasing the standard of living in our Country.

‘We are hopeful that this initiative by COERS, IIT Madras and GCTP will yield positive results by enabling the required mind set change among the general public.’

We need more such awareness programmes to sensitise road users on safe driving practices, he said.

Inaugural

Alby John Varghese said Zero accident day is an innovative concept where we are creating awareness on different subjects on different days.

MTC buses play a large role in the movement of vehicles in our city. Our bus drivers drive 100s of kilometres in a day and do it under stressful conditions, said the chief guest.

This training programme as part of the ZAD campaign with IIT Madras will help them better navigate the city’s roads and make them both better drivers and role models for other drivers, he said.

Training

The MTC Drivers were provided ‘simulator-based training in safe driving concepts, hazard perception, and driving etiquette which will go a long way in improving their ability to drive safely.

Future Drivers

Emphasising the necessity of training future drivers, Sreenivasan Janakiraman, CSR Head, Ford Motor Private Limited, said to tap into India’s demographic dividend.

It’s very important to take action today to create responsible road users for the future.

As an automotive company, we understand that road safety is critical and we are glad to be a part of this initiative to train young drivers and make our roads safer, he said.

Reduction

R Sudhakar, IPS, Additional Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai Traffic Police, said, every city across the world witnesses accidents.

Our aim has always been to bring down road accidents and fatalities and make Chennai a zero-accident city, even if it is for one day, he said.

We’re happy to partner with COERS and IIT Madras to make this happen. Normally when someone says Zero, there is a negative image attached to it, he said.

We wanted to change this, and give zero a positive changeover. This ZAD campaign is for 20 days with different stakeholders with a unique theme for each day to create maximum awareness and impact, he said.

Awareness

Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian, Head, CoERS and RBG Labs, Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras said road users need to be continuously refreshed on knowledge of road rules, proper driving etiquette.

They need to be refreshed even about violations and negligent driving behaviour that cause road safety hazards to people, infrastructure, and vehicles, said head of COERS.

Enforcement could provide interventions only to a limited extent to maintain the safety of all road users, said head of COERS.

This vision Zero Accidents in Chennai is within reach but can only become a reality if all of us undergo a behavioural and mindset change to educate ourselves to be responsible road users, he said.

Road Safety

This entire month of the Zero Accident Day (ZAD) campaign by GCTP will be about road safety education and awareness for all road users in Chennai at all age levels.

Several activities at the community level, schools, colleges, IT parks are planned in Chennai as an endeavour towards making Chennai roads safe.

It performs evidence-based integrated approach to Road Safety.

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COERS works on various aspects of human factors engineering, road engineering and vehicle engineering to bring about significant improvements in road safety globally.

This COERS also advices various stakeholders and Governments to bring about a data-driven systems approach to road safety.

This collaboration agreement seeks to capitalize on the strengths of both institutions, broadening the learning experience for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science (BS) programs at IIT Madras and undergraduate programs at IIT Palakkad.

To date, over 30,000 students are actively participating in this program, fostering a vibrant and interactive learning community, say sources from IIT Palakkad.

Director of IIT Madras

Welcoming this collaboration, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said IIT Madras is committed to reach quality education to every deserving student in our country. This initiative with IIT Palakkad is a very significant step towards reaching the goals.

We are enthusiastic about mentoring these bright minds. Our courses and internships have a strong emphasis on hands-on learning and innovation, said director of IIT Palakkad.

This collaboration with IIT Madras will build a robust foundation that equips students with the skills, insights, and networks they need to excel, he said.

Key features

The key features of this collaboration include:

Ø Credit Transfer from IITPkd Courses: IIT Madras BS (Data Science and Applications) students who meet the eligibility criteria can fulfil their credit requirements by taking courses at IIT Palakkad, promoting an exchange of academic resources and expertise.

Ø Access to IIT Madras Courses for IIT Palakkad Students: The MoU allows undergraduate students at IIT Palakkad to enrol in courses on Data Science and Programming from the IIT Madras BS program, ensuring equitable access to these cutting-edge skills.

Ø Support for Additional Initiatives: The collaboration will also facilitate student exchange programs, internship opportunities, and other joint initiatives.

Commitment

This collaboration between IIT Madras and IITPkd highlights the commitment of both institutions to enrich student experiences through cross-disciplinary exposure, practical learning, and research opportunities.

It aims to create a robust academic ecosystem that utilizes the expertise and infrastructure of both IITs.

Collaboration

IIT Madras has been collaborating with other leading institutions in the country to provide in-person learning opportunities for final-year students in the BS program.

IIT Gandhinagar, IIIT Hyderabad, and Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) have already made their campus courses available to eligible students from the IIT Madras BS (Data Science) degree program.

About IIT Palakkad

Established in 2015, the Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad is dedicated to creating an environment that enables students and faculty to engage in the pursuit of knowledge, to dream, think, and innovate thereby becoming change agents for a better world.

Having begun with just 120 students in July 2015, IIT Palakkad has since grown into an establishment that is about a thousand students strong and with the best manpower in key positions.

IITPkd aims to become a multi-disciplinary institution with 5000 students by its 10th year. The Institute recognizes collective growth, in collaboration with industry and other academic institutions, as the need of the time and emphasizes blue-sky research and directed research as two essential pillars of technology development.

The Institute embraces a vision to be a leader in cross-disciplinary inquiries, and to contribute to the potential that India’s demographic dividend represents for the country and the world, which is embodied in the motto of the institute “Nurturing minds for a better world”.

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