With a spike in the number of road accidents in the country, the government has decided to put its focus on creating awareness on road safety and has roped in a private agency for the purpose.
The ministry of road transport and highways has hired a dedicated publicity consultant called Goldmine Advertising to chart a special road safety communication strategy for the government.
The agency would be starting a year-long pan India awareness campaign on road safety for road users across all strata of the society including cyclists, pedestrians and motorists.
"The multimedia campaign is also likely to rope in many celebrities endorsing road safety for greater impact," officials from the ministry said.
Sources informed that the campaign will first start in the top 13 states which has seen the maximum number of road accidents in the last few years before covering other states.
As per the 2015 report on road accidents in India, the southern state of Tamil Nadu tops in road accidents in the entire country contributing up to 13.8 per cent of the total number of road accidents in the country.
DNA, had independently, found that Delhi also accounts for the highest number of black spots or accident prone spots in the country numbering 11, followed by Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh.
In terms of fatalities, however, Uttar Pradesh reported the maximum fatalities in 2015 numbering 17,666, followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
The 2015 report on road accidents also established that 77 per cent of accidents are the drivers' fault, of which 62.2 per cent were the result of overspeeding.
"This shows that people driving vehicles are either not aware or have not been sensitised enough to drive safely. Many drivers are not even aware of the speed limit on India's highways," an official said, adding that the new awareness campaign will take this fact into account.
