National road safety programme
Respect The Road – organizes a pub crawl at Cyber Hub in Gurgaon to spread the message of responsible drinking and road safety
Year-end celebrations are round the corner and everyone’s making plans to ensure that the New Year is welcomed with utmost delight and merry making. However, it probably is also the most important time of the year to further exercise caution, drink responsibly, and respect the road.
Realising the need to cater to a larger audience and spread the message of responsible drinking and road safety, leading national road safety programme, Respect The Road, launched its second crawl for a cause – ‘Party by Example’ in Cyber Hub, Gurgaon. After successfully conducting the programme in Bengaluru last year on the theme of ‘Crawl for a Cause’, the event is now extended to Gurgaon in association with existing partners Ola, DriveU and Fever 104 FM.
While the state government is institutionalizing programmes like Vision Zero, it is important for communities, corporates and citizens to come together as well to tackle the issue. Respect The Road is one such initiative which adds to the government’s ongoing good efforts.
Respect The Road Crawl for a Cause – ‘Party by Example’ was hosted by RJ Nitin from 104 FM at four venues in Cyber Hub on December 16 - The Beer Café, Cyber Hub Social, Delhi Heights and Raasta. A host of fun activities were designed to engage guests on the theme of responsible drinking and road safety. The participating guests were made to sign on a pledge board committing to respect the road and responsible drinking which also entailed arranging alternate modes of transportation. Representatives from the participating outlets spoke about responsible serving and encouraged the participants to use alternatives to drinking and driving such as calling a cab, hiring a chauffeur or designating a buddy to drive.
Addressing the event, DCP Balbir Singh, Gurgaon Traffic Police said, “Respect the road means to follow rules on the road for not only your safety but for the safety of others. 400 people approximately die on a daily basis from road accidents and that affects not only the person but their families. I appreciate this initiative greatly to raise awareness - it will go a long way in building road safety and preventing road rage”.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Devashish Dasgupta, Director- Corporate Affairs, AB InBev, India, said, “Promoting responsible drinking is at the heart of our community efforts. We want to encourage people to party responsibly and respect the road by choosing safe travel options after an evening out. I am pleased to see the response and hope this inspires people to be safe while having a good time.”
Stressing the importance of collaboration for impact, Deep Singh, Business Head - North, Ola, said, “At Ola, we are focused on our mission of building mobility for a billion Indians. An integral part of this mission is to build a safe and reliable experience for citizens. We have always been forthcoming in promoting and encouraging initiatives that have a significant impact on the society. There is a compelling need for people to realize the importance of safe driving especially those who visit bars and pubs. Our association with ABInBev and the ‘Respect The road’ programme for the ‘Crawl for a cause’ therefore is a joint effort to educate people to be socially responsible. We are sure that engagements like these will go a long way in driving road safety in Delhi NCR.”
“Drinking and driving simply doesn't mix. DriveU has been at the forefront to sensitize and educate the public about responsible driving. Our partnership with ABInBev has helped countless customers to be driven home safely by our highly regards DriveU drivers," said Ashok Shastry, COO and co-founder at DriveU
Devashish officially flagged off the event with a welcome address at the Beer Café. The group then moved on to Cyber Hub Social where they participated in a quiz and had their BAC (Blood Alcohol Consumption) levels checked. The next stop was at Delhi Heights which witnessed a brain storming session urging guests to come up with creative taglines on the theme of road safety. At Delhi Heights, guests also signed a pledge to drink responsibly and took selfies with the programme mascot Traffic Tau. The last stop was Raasta where the programme concluded with all participants agreeing to spread the message further. The attendees were presented Ola vouchers as a safer alternative to use during the holiday season.
The host of the event RJ Nitin, FEVER 104 FM, said, “The Crawl for a Cause organised by ‘Respect the Road’ programme is a great initiative. Road safety and drinking and driving are two issues that need to be addressed immediately in our country. The fact that corporates are taking such impressive measures and joining hands with the authorities to promote the need for road safety and responsible drinking is truly commendable. I am extremely proud to be a part of such a robust initiative. We must all be ambassadors of celebrating responsibly and of course, road safety”.
“I really enjoyed the pub crawl. The activities were a lot of fun and at the same time informative. They had a very important message to convey. I will stay committed to my pledge and wish everyone a Happy and Safe New Year,” said one of the participants at the event.
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