Deputy Regional Transport Office (DRTO), Borivli, now figures in the Guinness World Records for holding the largest road safety class.
The DRTO broke this record on Sunday afternoon, 116 days after students from the Provincia de Santiago del Estero, Argentina, set a record.
Borivli DRTO raced ahead of the Argentinian school with 2,168 participants against the latter's 2,119.
The class, focusing on the importance of wearing helmets by riders and pillion riders and seat belts while driving, also saw the participants take an oath on driving responsibly. It was held at the SRPF Parade Ground in Jogeshwari.
"Approximately 3,000 people, including more than 500 children, are killed every day on roads. This amounts to 1.2 million deaths a year. More than eight out of 10 deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Many are disabled for life.
"Pedestrians, cyclists and riders of motorised two-wheelers and pillion account for around half of the global road traffic deaths. Last year, around 20,000 died in Maharashtra due to road accidents," Ravi Gaikwad, head of DRTO, Borivli, said.
The precursor to the record attempt was a bicycle and motorbike rally that was flagged off from the Bandra-Kurla Complex, which culminated at the parade ground in Jogeshwari.
The event, which was organised by DRTO, Borivli, along with Mahindra Rise and Brahma Kumaris, saw the participation of over 3,000 individuals. But some of them left midway, thereby not getting accounted for the official record attempt.
Just before the class, an official from Guinness World Records briefed that there were around 100 stewards on the ground to keep an eye on participants and to see how many are attentive while the class is in session. Hence, there is a possibility of a few participants getting discounted.
