India’s road infrastructure is growing at a commendable speed, with government agencies accelerating the modernisation and expansion of the country’s road network.

In August 2024 this year, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CECA) approved a total of eight new national high-speed corridors. With such strong impetus on road architecture, equal efforts should be made to augment the safety ecosystem ensuring observance of driving rules to intercept fatalities.

India lost over 1.72 lakh lives to road crashes in 2023— a preventable tragedy demanding immediate attention. Sadak Suraksha Abhiyaan 2025 (SSA 2025), a public service awareness campaign, now in its third year, is back to empower and educate citizens towards making roads safe in the country.

The theme for this year – ‘Parwah Karenge, Surakshit Rahenge’– translates ‘to care and stay safe’ and endeavours to inspire citizens to take up the onus of adhering to traffic rulesfor their own and others’ safety. This year, the campaign focuses on engaging with children, orienting and sensitising them to become road safety champions.

With its previous two editions, the initiative has been successful in pivoting the attention to fostering more empathy on roads by making citizens understand the value of protecting human lives and making Indian roads safer. To ensure the prevention of road crashes and fatalities, this year’s SSA is anchored on four core principles to make people more responsible towards road safety and crashes. These are – Parwah (to care), Pahel (to take initiative on creating awareness on road safety), Prayas (exerting to promote road safety laws), and Parivartan (observing the results of behavioural change brought in by efforts undertaken).

According to reports, on an average 474 deaths take place every day in India, translating to 20 deaths every hour. Adopting a fresh approach, SSA 2025 will work with children as the primary force for not only ensuring that their parents adhere to traffic rules but also to become safe drivers in the future. SSA aims to engage children as road safety ambassadors through storytelling, art, and a special concert with Shankar Mahadevan, Shillong Chamber Choir, and the Jubilee Theatre Company. Aayush Kalra and Prakriti Kalra, popularly known as Aayu and Pihu, the dynamic young YouTubers will also host an interactive quiz at this special event.

Apart from the concert, special regional events across 20 cities will take place over the month of January to tackle critical issues like underage driving, awareness about the Good Samaritan Law and other aspects. In addition, the Sadak Suraksha Bus will travel to different parts of the country to make learning about road safety engaging and accessible. Equipped with road safety guidelines and fun simulator learning games, the bus will be power packed to educate and empower the next generation. The initiative culminates in a telethon with actor Amitabh Bachchan and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, reinforcing the call for safer roads.

The preventable loss of life on our roads is a wake up call we simply cannot ignore. SSA 2025 aims to instill a culture of safety in young minds, empowering them as ambassadors of change. By uniting road policy experts, lawmakers, industry leaders, and influential voices, this initiative seeks to transform mindsets, strengthen awareness of laws, and inspire action.

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Road to responsibility: Children lead way in Sadak Suraksha Abhiyaan 2025