Labour Minister and Dharwad district in-charge Santosh Lad has said that the responsibility of bringing the number of road accidents to zero is everyone’s and for the purpose, creating awareness on road safety is crucial.
He was flagging off a motorcycle and car rally as part of National Road Safety Week 2025 jointly organised by the Dharwad district administration, Transport Department, Karnataka State Road Safety Authority, Hubballi Dharwad Motor Driving Schools Association, KLE Technological University and Hubballi Motor Vehicle Dealers in Hubballi on Wednesday.
Mr. Lad said that with the increase in the number of youths riding motorcycles, the number of youths getting killed in accidents has risen to 22%.
“Every day, an average of 280 people die in road accidents and, this will bring down the GDP by 1% and also financially affect families of the victims. Youths should follow traffic regulations as adhering to traffic rules and regulations will not cause loss of life,” he said.
The Minister said that riding in a hurry, drunken driving, violation of traffic regulations, driving without wearing seatbelt and riding without helmet will lead to casualties in accidents and appealed to the youth to adhere to the law.
Member of Legislative Assembly Mahesh Tenginakai said that Dharwad district stands 15th in terms of number of road accident casualties. “In order to push it to the 30th position, there is a need for more awareness and adherence to traffic regulations. People should stop triple riding and follow the rules,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Divya Prabhu G.R.J. said that road safety is not the responsibility of a department or the government but of all people.
“Engineering, education and enforcement are three aspects of road safety. While engineers should lay quality roads, awareness should be created through education and all people should adhere to the rules enforced by the government. As per data, 75,000 people have lost their lives because of not wearing helmets while riding. Youth should not indulge in negligent driving,” she said.
On the occasion, road safety paraphernalia and pamphlets were released and stickers on road safety were stuck on vehicles.
The awareness rally, which began from BVB College campus concluded at Tolanakere (tank).
Chairman of HDUDA Shakir Sanadi, ZP CEO Bhuvanesh Patil, Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar, Superintendent of Police Gopal Byakod, Joint Transport Commissioner M.P. Omkareshwari, Vice-Chancellor of KLETU Prakash Tewari and others took part in the programme.
