All of you must have seen some road accident in which people lose their life. India has a very high number of accidents on the road. In recent years there is some improvement in this area. However, with rapid increase of vehicles on the road the traffic conditions are under a lot of pressure.

Road safety refers to methods be adopted by everyone while using roads. These safety methods

are meant for reducing the risk of accidents and injuries or causalities on the road. These rules must

be followed by all users of roads including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists, bus & truck drivers.

Safety methods also relate to the construction, layout of roads as well as traffic regulation systems.

So we can summarise that road safety involves various aspects including:

The design of roads and highways

Laws pertaining to traffic and vehicles

Systems of traffic safety and control

Driver education

School student’s education about road safety

Mass education about road safety

Traffic and road safety signs

Vehicle design

Motor vehicle safety inspection and maintenance.

Actually it is not difficult to keep our roads safe. Imagine that everyone follows simple safety

measures and traffic rules. In that situation there will not be any accidents.

In this Unit, you will develop an understanding of the various types of road safety measures to be

adopted. You may understand Importance of safety rules, road signs, traffic signals and rules,

driving rules, registration and licensing adopted in our country.