Consumer VOICE Organized Cyclothon to Promote Safer Roads and Child Safety

Consumer VOICE organized Cyclothon (Cycle Rally) event on January 7, 2017 on the occasion of Road Safety Week in January(11 Jan-17 Jan  2017) at Nehru Park, Neeti Marg Parking Area ,Chanakyapuri, New Delhi in association with Delhi Traffic Police.

The main objective of the event is to create awareness on road safety aspects among masses and also to make citizens aware about their duties towards road safety in India and for strong road safety law which will help in averting countless avoidable deaths due to road accidents.

The theme of the Cyclothon was 'Child Safety and Safer Roads -Every Life Counts'. 

 The "Cyclothon" was flagged off by Shri Satyender Jain, Hon'ble Transport and Health Minister, Delhi Govt.

 The event also marked the presence of Shri Jagwinder Singh, Paraolympic cyclist and more than 100 cyclists. Abhay Damle, (IRS)-Joint Secretary, Transport, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and senior officers from Delhi Traffic Police were also present at the event. The event was organised with support from Cycling for Environment.

 In the inaugural speech Hon'ble Transport Minister appreciated the programme and requested people to respect road users and called for strong laws for road safety.Para-olympian cyclist champion Jagwinder Singh also joined the event and  appreciated the efforts and emphasized the need for having more such events to promote road safety among citizens.

The event was attended by cyclists, students, athletes, consumer organisations,media and senior citizens who came forward to support the cause of Road Safety and Child Safety.

Facts about Child Safety :  

According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989, children be given protection and care for his/her well-being.

• One way to achieve this goal is to prevent them from being killed on the roads.
• In addition, one of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets (3.6) is to halve the global number of deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2020.
• As one of the signatories to the SDGs, India has the responsibility to enact appropriate legislation to achieve this goal, especially when it comes to the safety of India's children on the roads. 
• According to the National Crime Records Bureau (2013), 20 children under the age of 14 die every day due to road crashes in India.
• Almost 60 children age 3 to 15 are killed or seriously injured on Indian roads. 
• In 2014 alone, 16,901 children were killed in road crashes in India.
• This is nearly 675% more than the reported deaths of children from all crimes against them put together.
• Children accounted for 6.1% of the total accidental deaths due to motor vehicle crashes in 2013 in India.