SBI General Insurance launches road safety campaign 'Right to Walk'

SBI General Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Insurance Australia Group (IAG) today announced the launch of a national road safety campaign ‘Right to Walk’ as part of 25thNational Road Safety Week that commenced on the 11th January, 2014. The initiative aims at bringing about a behavioral change in drivers, both two and four wheelers and sensitise them to recognize the rights of the Pedestrians who are the primary victims of Road accidents. The campaign is targeted at young drivers – especially youth from colleges across the country to participate in a contest of making short films on Road Safety measures.
The campaign is being supported by Shamiana – The short film club who are conducting a month long campaign across the country targeting colleges, film institutes, and short film clubs to participate in the contest. Shamiana will be using their network to encourage more people to send in their entries through its online and on-campus platforms to promote the contest.

The campaign will be using the medium of social media i.e Facebook, Twitter, Google + and YouTube to engage and interact with wider audience and encourage them to participate in the contest, share opinions, etc.

Commenting on this initiative, Mr. B. J. Sarma, MD and CEO, SBI General said, “Being a responsible corporate, it is our duty to think and act for the welfare of the citizens of this country. We strongly believe in contributing in our own way for the cause of making this country safer and secure. We believe a moving picture is louder than thousand spoken words and an impactful medium to engage many minds to think towards one direction, towards a safer nation. The contest is an opportunity to interact with the youth and a platform to express their ideas in an innovative way towards the Road Safety.”

“Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has reported that more than 1.5 Lakh people were killed in Road Accidents during 2011, and the numbers keep on increasing. A recent report published by WHD says in India over 40% affected because of road accidents are road users (Pedestrians), and around 30% are bikers. This campaign is just a step to create awareness about road safety,” Mr. Sarma added further.