Every day we see or read news about road accidents on television or in newspapers. These accidents happen due to irresponsible driving or not following traffic rules properly. To save a little time, people do not care about their precious lives and are also ready to put others’ lives in danger. Traffic rules have been made to avoid accidents on roads and to protect life and property, following which is very important for every person walking on the road. For example, speed limits have been set to reduce the risk of accidents by controlling the speed of vehicles. Similarly, the rules for wearing seat belts or helmets aim to reduce injuries in case of an accident. The police and administration run many awareness campaigns to create awareness about traffic rules across the country. These awareness campaigns play an important role in educating the public about the importance of following traffic rules.
In Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, the administration launched a unique campaign to make people aware of traffic rules. Under the guidance of Kanker Superintendent of Police Mr. Divyang Patel (SP Kanker), under the 34th National Road Safety Month, the police launched a campaign called “Say Sorry to Family” to make people aware of traffic rules. Under this campaign, which started on January 15, 2024, people who violated traffic rules were made to hold a placard with the theme of the campaign in their hands, their photo was taken, and that photo was sent to their 5 family members from their mobile. It was written on the placard “We have violated traffic rules and played with our lives and the lives of others. Therefore, we seek forgiveness from our family”. This campaign run by the Kanker Police Administration was registered as a world record in the Golden Book of World Records with the title of “Largest Campaign of Admonishing for Traffic Rules“. The certificate of world record was presented to Superintendent of Police Mr. Divyaang Patel, Reserve Inspector Mr. Govind Verma, Mohsin Khan and their team by Mr. Alok Kumar, National Head, GBWR, Golden Book of World Records in the presence of Chief Guest MP Mr. Mohan Mandavi during a ceremony held on Republic Day.
The main objective of the traffic rule awareness campaign “Say Sorry to Family” was that “instead of following traffic rules to avoid challan action, people should follow them for their safety as well as that of every person walking on the road”. During this campaign, this message reached more than one lakh people through the photos sent by people violating traffic rules. During this campaign, police teams were deployed on the main roads and intersections of the district and along with taking this unique action against people violating traffic rules, they also honoured the people driving vehicles while following traffic rules by giving them flowers.