Launch of SIAM-FADA SAFE SERVICE Pilot

Excerpts from the speech of Dr Pawan Goenka, President, SIAM at the launch of the Pilot Safe Service Initiative on 5th May 2010 at Chandigarh.

India has a very high road fatality rate and this problem is likely to become worse as vehicle population increases. Focus today is on safety. SIAM is working with the government to work out a Safety Roadmap. Objective of SAFE is to work at the ground level to promote clean environment and road safety within the available infrastructure.

New vehicles that are being launched today are coming with a host of emission control & safety features but all of this would add up to nothing, if safety norms were not observed by the motorists and people. Therefore, it is very important that we work together to make sure that the things, which are within our control are taken care of to ensure safe transportation and mobility.

India has multiple modes of transportation including 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, buses, trucks, cyclists and pedestrians, all plying on the road at the same time and at different speeds. Therefore, a holistic approach towards safety is required. This would come from road management, traffic management and from safer vehicles. There is also a need for disciplining users of roads, both pedestrians and drivers.

For achieving this, there is no real requirement for a national level policy change or for any major investments. In this, everyone has a role to play. Local government authorities have an important role to play by ensuring that the norms that are in place at present are implemented properly.

 
SIAM and SAFE have been working with various stakeholders over the years in making roads safer. One of the important initiatives often talked about is the I&M programme, applicable at present only to commercial vehicles. It should be applicable to passenger vehicles too, as is being followed in most of the countries, with high population of vehicles, the world over. But for various logistical reasons, we have not been able to implement this programme. So, now we have joined hands with Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) and their President, S P Shah is also present here to formally launch the pilot run of the initiative called the 'SAFE SERVICE'.

'Safe Service' is a voluntary pilot Safe Service initiative. We will have authorised service centres that will give SAFE Certificate to vehicles that are designated SAFE based on various parameters that the vehicle will be tested on at certain intervals. Insurance companies, which have agreed to come forward, would be paying for the certification by reducing insurance rate for vehicles that pass this Safety Test. We are launching this programme as a pilot with 16 dealers, who have initially come forward for taking part in this programme.

It would be a no cost programme. So, the vehicle owners must come forward to participate in this initiative. SIAM is committed to work with all stakeholders to ensure cleaner environment, safer roads and energy conservation, as far as possible, within the constraints we have, while not affecting the mobility of the citizens. I request all stakeholders to work with us in this endeavour so that mobility not just grows but grows with responsibility. Once everyone sees the value of making sure the basic safety of the vehicle is taken care of, it would become a programme that will have its own life and mushroom into a nationwide movement, eventually becoming a statutory programme.

Truly, I believe it is a small initiative, which we are starting today. But, if we are successful, more and more consumers would take advantage of it; more and more insurance companies would come forward and support this programme; and more transport commissioners will start requiring this kind of certification. We would like to see it become a historic event. While it is a voluntary programme today, we hope it will go a long way in making vehicles safer and less polluting on roads and getting maximum out of a vehicle in terms of fuel efficiency, lower emissions and safety.