United for Road Safety

United for Road Safety, is a community impact initiative of United Way Mumbai which aims to address various aspects related to the promotion of road safety in Mumbai, India.

Two Wheeler Rider Training

Impact to date: (2016 to 2019)

Phase 1:

We conducted over 200 sessions, sensitizing more than 6000 youth across Mumbai colleges.
77 active road safety clubs created.

Phase 2:

390 training sessions conducted between May 2019 and Feb 2020.
9303 individuals have been sensitized about responsible two-wheeler riding.
2692 individuals underwent assessment with the two-wheeler simulator.

Two Wheels One Life

Phase 1:
As part of Phase 1 of the initiative, 3-4 hour classroom sessions were held by the students of the NSS cell on the topic of safe/defensive driving followed by a demonstration by a trainer, an on-wheel assessment for those who owned a vehicle and awareness about possessing a valid driving license and wearing a proper helmet. Upon successful completion of the training, every student was awarded a certificate jointly issued by United Way Mumbai, NSS Cell, University of Mumbai and the National Safety Council â€“ Maharashtra Chapter.

Phase 2:

United way Mumbai commenced this phase of the project on 14th May 2019 at the Andheri RTO. Under Phase 2, training would be conducted for learning license applicants every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as allotted by the Andheri RTO. Training sessions are conducted in batches of a maximum of 30 participants. The batches are arranged by UWM for applicants who have completed their learner's license test, irrespective of whether they have passed or failed the test.

The training is followed by an awareness session for aspiring or current two-wheeler riders, wherein they have access to the Two-Wheeler Simulator. At the simulator, a trainer briefs the participant about the simulator before the ride begins. After their ride gets completed, the UWM trainer counsels them on techniques for safe and responsible two-wheeler riding.

Slow Down Campaign

The Slow Down campaign aims at advocating improved enforcement of speed control measures and speed management policies in Mumbai to curb speeding behaviour amongst motorists; thereby reducing the number of road crashes and serious injury and death caused by excessive or inappropriate speeding. The key objectives of the project are as given below;

Objective 1: Support stricter enforcement of speed management measures in Mumbai through local stakeholder engagement and advocacy
Objective 2: Create public awareness to curb speeding through the â€˜Slow Downâ€™ campaign

Under this project till date United Way Mumbai in consultation with Jt. CP of Traffic police has successfully identified 20 black spots across Mumbai on which fatalities occur mainly because of speeding. At this speeding spots, the road crash data and speed challan data available were gathered followed by a day long-baseline speeding survey on weekday and weekend of these spots were done jointly by enumerators of IIT Bombay and UWM so as to understand the vehicle flow and speeding pattern at the spot. For the pilot phase of these project 3 out of the 20 spots were selected where local citizen groups/individuals were identified who would like to advocate and be a part of these local traffic advisory committee and would jointly work with local traffic division for reducing the number of crashes due to speeding by simple cost-effective interventions.

The three spots selected for the pilot phase are as follows:

Ramabai Nagar Junction where we have mobilized 15 members from local citizen welfare groups and local politician
Chedda Nagar Junction where we have mobilized 17 members from Chedda Nagar welfare association group and few individual residents who stay around the spot
Mahim Causeway Junction where we have mobilized 23 members from local citizen group/mandals, fisherman colony and local politician

Global Road Safety Education VIA a New Generation

Road traffic crashes are the 8th leading cause of death, globally claiming over 1.34 million lives. Globally, each year, over 227,000 fatalities of road crashes are youth under the age of 20 and everyday, road accidents claim lives of 500 children. As per "Road Accidents in India - 2017", a report published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH, Government of India), India reported 4,64,910 road crashes with 1,47,913 lives lost and a total of 4,70,975 persons injured. Of the total fatalities, 9,408 individuals were aged below 18 years. While children are a highly vulnerable group (as pedestrians, passengers and road users), their safety is largely overlooked in attempts to address road safety issues.

The project Global Road Safety Education VIA a New Generation is being conducted under the aegis of UWM's United for Road Safety campaign, focusing primarily on educating children and adolescents aged 10 to 14 years about road safety. The aim of the programme is to sustainably impact their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. The initiative covers awareness on risky behaviour on the road, learning to avoid accidents and being alert while commuting on the roads. The programme also aims to create action plans for implementing road safety measures in school routes and school environments and make children aware of the connection between safe behaviour on the roads and protecting their own lives.

Impact Phase 1

We targeted 2 schools and trained 200 children.

Impact Phase 2

We are working pan India with 130 schools (both public and private) in 6 cities (Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Bangalore & Mumbai). More than 15,000 schools will be sensitized about the significance of road safety.
We have targeted 43 schools in Mumbai covering over 5000 children with 100 to 200 children per school.

Other Initiatives Under United for Road Safety

UWM has also conducted the following initiatives under the aegis of the United for Road Safety campaign.

Heads Up campaign to spread awareness about the dangers of mobile phone usage while on the road.
Drink Driving Sensitisation to educate individuals on the impact of alcohol impairment on the body while driving.

Jeevan Doot

Jeevan Doot is a project under the aegis of United for Road Safety, aiming to improve the state of emergency response care provided to victims of road crashes. The programme focuses on training community volunteers as First Responders, equipped to provide post-crash emergency care to the victims of road crashes at select black spots on Mumbai roads, till the time professional medical aid arrives at the site. Under the project, United Way Mumbai mobilizes Jeevan Doots from communities around select crash-prone spots in Mumbai.

Impact:

We conducted 8 First Responder training sessions for a selection of 5 black spots.
142 individuals were trained as First Responders from the selected black spots.
3 of the Jeevan Doots were felicitated at the hands of the Jt. Commissioner of Police, Traffic during the culminating ceremony at the 31st National Road Safety Week. Mr. Kamlakar Patil, Mr. Pradeep Majalkar and Mr. Nasir Manihar were trained by United Way Mumbai under our community impact initiative Jeevan Doot under the aegis of United for Road Safety.
On 13th January during the inauguration of the 31st National Road Safety Week, 3 more Jeevan Doots trained by United Way Mumbai were felicitated by the Hon. Chief Minister Shri. Uddhav Thackeray, for their timely help to road crash victims.

United for Road Safety

Latest Updates

31st National Road Safety Week, 2020

17th January 2020

During the inauguration of the 31st National Road Safety Week by the Government of Maharashtra, at NCPA, Mumbai; the Honâ€™ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Sri. Uddhav Thackeray visited United Way Mumbai's two-wheeler simulator. He appreciated the innovative initiative and expressed the need to replicate it across Maharashtra.
From February 2018 to date, we have used the simulator to train over 10,000 persons

During the inaugural function and the conclusion ceremony of the road safety week, 6 Jeevan Doots (Good Samaritans) were felicitated as United Way Mumbai's community volunteers by the Honâ€™ble State Transport Minister Sri. Anil Parab and the Jt. Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Sri. Madhukar Pandey.
These volunteers are among the 140 trained by United Way Mumbai in Basic First Response, Good Samaritan Act and 108 Ambulance Service as First Responders from around 6 black spots across Mumbai.

UWM conducted special group sessions with school children to sensitize them about the importance of being visible while on roads.
We also joined hands with the Traffic Control Branch of Mumbai Police, to conduct awareness activities at 3 black spots in Mumbai on the theme, "Slow Down". Volunteers with placards interacted with motorists and distributed the car hangers as a token of the motorists' pledge to slow down and adhere to speed limits while driving. Under this project, UWM is also working on 20 black spots in Mumbai identified by the Traffic Control Branch, Mumbai Police as locations where speeding is the major cause of fatalities.

You can read all the details of the activities conducted by United Way Mumbai during the 31st National Road Safety Week, 2020, here.

World Day of Remembrance, 2020

10th November 2019

The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDoR) is commemorated annually on the third Sunday of November, around the world. This year was the 24th anniversary of the event and United Way in Mumbai (UWM) organised various activities to raise awareness about the day at various Black Spots across Mumbai.

"Slow Downâ€ is UWM's community impact initiative supported by the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), focused on spreading awareness regarding adhering to speed limits. The activities under the initiative are conducted at 20 different speeding spots across Mumbai. Road Safety Advocacy Clubs (RSAC) and local residents collaborated with government officials to work on cost-effective interventions at these spots to promote the importance of adhering to speed limits, in order to reduce the incidence of road crashes.

Activities conducted on World Day of Remembrance 2020

At the organised activities, RSAC members and members from the community paid homage to individuals who lost their lives in road accidents. Individuals or family members of the victims shared their road accident testimonials and lighted candles to express their respect. 55 Road Safety Advocacy Clubs members from various locations in Mumbai joined hands with local traffic police and other community members to commemorate the event.

Simulator Based Training at the Andheri RTO

24th May 2019

United Way Mumbai has started simulator-based training of new learner's license applicants under the United for Road Safety campaign, with support from Castrol and in collaboration with the Andheri RTO. The aim is to train the applicants to become safe two-wheeler road users, which in turn will facilitate a safer commute and help in making roads in Mumbai safer.

The project commenced on 14th May 2019 at Andheri RTO, with training being conducted for learner's license applicants every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, as allotted by the Andheri RTO. Training sessions are conducted in batches of a maximum of 30 participants. The batches are arranged by UWM for applicants who have completed their learner's license test, irrespective of whether they have passed or failed the test.

The training is conducted in two main parts:-

1. Road safety training session: This awareness session gives the attendees a basic knowledge about road safety, including statistics regarding the present road crash scenario. The aim is to make applicants aware of various risks and hazard on the roads. This session takes almost 40-45 minutes per batch. The key topics covered during the training are listed below:-

A pre-training test to assess participantsâ€™ knowledge
Causes of road crashes
Road Rules and how to follow them
Importance of safety equipment in two-wheeler riding
The Good Samaritans notification
Post-training test to judge their take-away from the session

2. Simulator assessment: The training is followed by an awareness session for aspiring or current two-wheeler riders, wherein they have access to the Two-Wheeler Simulator. At the simulator, a trainer briefs the participant about the simulator before the ride begins. After their ride gets completed, the UWM trainer counsels them on techniques for safe and responsible two-wheeler riding.

Once the training is completed participants are handed a road safety kit (reflective stickers and a road safety leaflet), after which the participants who have passed the RTO learnerâ€™s license test can collect their learnerâ€™s licenses. To date, 35 sessions have been completed, through which 669 participants attended the Road Safety training session. 253 participants underwent the two-wheeler simulator assessment.

Jeevan Doot - First Responder Training

15th February 2018

Live demonstrations were conducted on how to be a First Responder to provide emergency care for victims of road crashes, as part of United Way Mumbai's Jeevan Doot initiative, powered by TATA Motors Finance LTD, under the aegis of the United for Road Safety campaign. Jeevan Doot aims to train members of the community to be First Responders and provide emergency aid for road crash victims till the time professional medical help arrives. This greatly increases the chances of the victim's recovery and survival.

Unveiling of India's First Mobile Two Wheeler Simulator

9th February 2018

UWM has procured mobile India's first Two Wheeler Simulator for training the youth in safe two wheeler riding skills. The Simulator was unveiled by Mr. Amitesh Kumar (IPS), Jt. Commissioner of Police (Traffic) at the grand awards function for our Two Wheeler Rider Safety initiative, Two Wheels One Life, powered by Castrol India Limited.

Its mobile nature makes this Simulator a very effective and efficient tool to train youth in colleges in safe two wheeler rider skills, since it can be taken from college to college for training sessions.

Zonal Rounds of Two Wheels One Life

30th January 2018

The zonal rounds of Intercollegiate Road Safety competition, 2 Wheels 1 Life is in progress, jointly organized by the NSS Unit of University of Mumbai and United Way Mumbai, with support from Castrol India Limited, in collaboration with Motor Vehicle Department & Mumbai Traffic Police. The first zonal evaluation for Mumbai City level colleges is being held at Lala Lajpatrai College.
We have invited more than 200 colleges to be a part of this competition.

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, 2017

21st November 2017

We began our commemoration of the World Day of Remembrance (WDoR) for road traffic deaths, under the United Road Safety campaign on 20th November. We aim to observe the occasion from 19^th November to 30^thNovember in collaboration with NSS and Road Safety Club members to jointly organize various awareness activities.

WDoR aims to publicly recognise the tragic and needless loss and sufferings of road crash victims. It has also become an important tool for governments and those who work to prevent road accidents or respond to their aftermath, since it offers the opportunity to demonstrate the enormous scale and impact of road deaths and injuries and the urgent need for action.

The goal is to raise awareness of the urgent need to reduce road fatalities by 50% by 2020. This year, we organised events in colleges like Kamladevi College, Lala Lajpatrai College and K.J. Somaiya College, and a community organisation, Bright Future. The activities and events included candlelight vigils to remember road traffic victims, poster making competitions to raise awareness about the need for road safety and an awareness session in association with the Sr. PI of Traffic, Mr. Khatale.

UN Global Road Safety Week

10th May 2017

United Way Mumbai has organised the "Slow Down” campaign, in collaboration with the Mumbai Traffic Police, to observe the fourth UN Global Road Safety Week from 8th to 14th May, 2017. The theme of the Road Safety Week is "Slow Down, Reduce Speed”. In consultation with Mumbai Traffic Police, UWM has planned a 5 days’ campaign, where over 50 volunteers, comprising UWM staff and NSS - University of Mumbai students from city colleges have been displaying placards and banners with awareness messages on the theme of "SLOW DOWN”. Over 2000 car drivers are being educated on a daily basis at the Toll Plaza of the Bandra Worli Sea Link Road. The Sea Link is an ideal spot to conduct this campaign, since it sees some of the highest rates of speeding in the city and the Mumbai Traffic Police have installed speed cameras to catch defaulters.

The campaign aims to:

Sensitize and encourage road users to pledge to Slow Down and adhere to speed limits on the road
Educate road users about mechanisms put in place by the Mumbai Traffic Police to trackspeed violations

Update - Two Wheels One Life

1st March 2017

4855 youth were engaged between 6th and 27th February, 2017 through the Two Wheels One Life programme, under the aegis of United for Road Safety, UWM's initiative, powered by Castrol. Over 200 students and professors attended the Grand Finale and Prize Distribution. For all the details regarding the programme, please click here.

Important Dates - Two Wheels One Life Zonal Competitions and Grand Finale

13th February 2017

Zone	Final Date	Time	Venue
Western Zone	Monday, 13th February, 2017	10:00 AM onwards	L.S. Raheja College
Eastern Zone	Tuesday, 14th February, 2017	10:00 AM onwards	R.A. D.A.V College
City Zone	Wednesday, 15th February, 2017	10:00 AM onwards	Maharshi Dayanand College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Parel (East), Mumbai.
Grand Finale	Saturday, 18th February, 2017	10:00 AM onwards	Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Matunga