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Road crashes is a complex health issue requiring a collaborative approach from multiple stakeholders. Therefore, road safety interventions have been grouped into six pillars wherein each stakeholder has been assigned definitive set of activities to carry out. Out of these six pillars of road safety, the pillar Safer Road Users involves activities pertaining to road user behaviour which covers awareness, education and enforcement of road users. Road Safety expert Ashwini Bagga who contributed during all phases of development of the portal gives an account
To focus upon the safety of road users, the State Road Safety Cell, Department of Transport and Road Safety in collaboration with Rajasthan Knowledge Corporation Limited (RKCL) has developed a dedicated road safety web portal. This is first of its kind of portal in the nation developed by the State which has been launched by the Deputy CM & Transport Minister of Rajasthan Dr. Prem Chand Bairwa on 14 February 2024. The portal available in English and Hindi can be browsed by following the URL https://roadsafetycell.rkcl.in. A separate section comprising road safety content and games for kids is under construction by RKCL and will be available soon to the public.
This portal has been developed in compliance to the State Level Initiatives included in the Rajasthan Road Safety Roadmap – 2020 which was developed in accordance with the Budget Declaration made by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The point number 1.6 of the Rajasthan Road Safety Roadmap describes the need for development of a Road Safety Web Portal.
RKCL is a Public Limited Company which is a joint venture of Government of Rajasthan and other institutions that promotes IT enabled education programs to all sorts of educational institutions and Government Departments. RKCL caters to approximately seven lakh students per year studying in various affiliated centres across the state. Earlier, RKCL with the help of State Road Safety Cell had developed a short road safety education module which was made compulsory to their students. Later, RKCL under their CSR initiative, collaborated with the State Road Safety Cell for development of the web portal.
Purpose of Web Portal:
The portal was developed in multiple phases. First, the structure of the portal was conceptualized followed by preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR). Thereafter, its working prototype was developed to visualize its look and feel and grouping of content. At the final stage, the actual portal was developed having the authentic content. Mr. Ashwini Bagga, a Jaipur based Road Safety Expert, contributed during all phases of development of the web portal including planning, DPR preparation, prototype design and content creation. This portal includes plethora of information related to road safety, which is useful for students, public at large, stakeholder departments, agencies and professionals working in the field of road safety.
The Web Portal aims to function on the following areas.
- Create awareness among adult road users and educate them about road safety regulation, legislations, and other related issues
- Disseminate important information through text and audio-visual mediums for various target groups
- Visualize road crash data in an interactive manner for the state of Rajasthan
- Provide a platform for sharing important content for various road safety professionals
- Provide a self-paced learning facility for road safety issues for public
- Help all institutions to educate their students about road safety and related issues
- Fulfil the objectives defined in Rajasthan Road Safety Roadmap – 2020 prepared by State Road Safety Cell, Transport Department Rajasthan in compliance to the Budget Declaration 2020-21 made by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan
- Utilize the Corporate Social Responsibility budget of RKCL for the social cause
The Structure:
For easy accessibility, the content of the web portal has been suitably structured and grouped under the following menu items:
Laws: Cover important provisions of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 related to road safety, offences and penalties for traffic violations, Motor Vehicle Driving Regulations, Bal Vahini (School Bus) Norms and Good Samaritan.
Safe Driving: This is the most comprehensive section that talks about all the aspects of road safety such as Safety Gears, important factors leading to crashes (like speeding, overtaking, wrong lane driving etc.), Distraction, Emergency (vehicle breakdown, dealing with road crashes, first aid and helping others), Traffic Control Devices (road signs, road markings, traffic lights and hand signals), Safety Tips for all categories of road users.
Knowledge Centre: This section provides listing of various facilities and institutions linked with road safety including Fitness Centres, Motor Driving Schools, Traffic Parks, Trauma Centres and Counselling Centres etc.
Government Initiatives: State Road Safety Cell is the Lead Agency in the State and Department of Transport and Road Safety is the nodal department for road safety. This section describes the institutional framework for road safety and initiatives taken by the State Government in the field of road safety.
Statistics: This section describes important statistics related to road safety including road crashes, vehicle population, road network in the state and Blackspots identified in the state.
Gallery: The gallery includes video gallery and photo gallery for road safety awareness and events etc.
Learning: This section comprises a list of self-paced learning modules and quizzes on different topics related to road safety. After completing a module an online assessment is shown to the user. An e-certificate is generated after successful completion of the assessment.
Benefits:
Along with dissemination of authentic information about road safety, the portal works as a one stop solution for different user groups including agencies in the field of road safety, institutions, and individuals including children and adults. The portal informs, educates and creates awareness on road safety in an engaging interactive manner.
The portal provides for institutions for conducting road safety activities through Road Safety Clubs. It encourages self-assessment method for enhancing knowledge on road safety and tracking overall development.
Another benefit is that the portal brings domain experts on a single platform for sharing of knowledge. It serves as a repository where institutions and other social welfare organizations can find a list of Road Safety Experts and Non-Government Organizations.
