Why in News?

• Ministry of State for Road Transport and Highways launched the Youth Road Safety Learners Licence programme in New Delhi.

Highlights:

• The programme is a PPP initiative to be run in collaboration with Diageo India and the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE)
• Attempts to bring a formal and structured training program for young, first-time drivers as they apply for learner’s license.
• This programme will help the Government achieve its target of reducing road accidents by 50 percent by 2020.

Reasons for high road accidents:

• Rash driving, Drunken driving
• Lack of adequate safety measures like not wearing helmets

Road to Safety initiative:

• To provide capacity building training to traffic police officials and educate commercial drivers such as truckers and bus drivers and university students on the dangers of drunken driving.