Maruti Suzuki releases Road Safety Index for 8 Indian cities

Maruti Suzuki India Limited, India�s leading passenger vehicle maker, released the Road Safety Index, a weighted average of scores on important parameters relating to road safety.

The index, compiled on the basis of citizen views and ground-level surveys, rates eight Indian cities on road safety. The cities covered include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

The report is a part of India Road Safety Mission (IRSM), a nation-wide initiative by Maruti Suzuki in partnership with Times Now television. The objective of the report is to lay down parameters which can become guidelines for Government institutions, NGOs and Corporates to improve road safety in the cities covered in the study.

The administrative bodies of the winning cities in each category were felicitated by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping at the IRSM conclave held in New Delhi today.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr R S Kalsi, Executive Director, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki, said, “Road Safety is increasingly becoming a matter of national importance. As a leader in automobile industry Maruti Suzuki has been working on inculcating safe driving habits among people through our various driving training initiatives. This initiative of city-wise Road Safety Index further strengthens our mission for safer roads. We are optimistic that the index will serve as a reference point for the stakeholders to identify and work in a systematic manner to improve road safety scenario in their respective cities.”

A #HappyRoads initiative by Maruti Suzuki in partnership with Times Now, aims to create awareness among the citizens about road safety. IRSM in its fourth year, intends to bring together policy makers, city authorities, road safety experts and citizens on one common platform. For the first time, the campaign has introduced a comprehensive Road Safety Index through which best performing cities are awarded.

The 8 cities selected for the campaign were identified based on population, metro status, and statewide coverage. The study was conducted over a period of 3 months. It considers feedback from 6000 people representing the population in these cities. 15 prominent locations in each city, including malls, bus stops, petrol pumps, tourist spots and similar busy areas of the city were identified for the survey.

Each city was rated against 11 important parameters impacting road safety: – Pedestrian Rights, Road Lighting and Maintenance, Motor Laws and Traffic Control, Emergency Services, Road Cleanliness, Connectivity, Road Infrastructure, Road Safety, Differently abled friendly, Road Quality and Pollution Control. The report identifies best performing cities in these categories while bringing out the gaps that need attention.