SIAM brings together government and industry experts 

New Delhi: As a part of the month-long Road Safety Awareness Program, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) under the aegis of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and Delhi Traffic Police hosted a virtual seminar on ‘Emerging Technologies for Safer Mobility’. The objective of seminar was to deliberate emerging technologies that can help in achieving safer mobility by curbing road accidents, fatalities, and injuries.  Mr Kailash Chand Gupta, IAS, Additional Secretary, MoRTH graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and Mr Taj Hassan, IPS, Special Commissioner of Police, Delhi Traffic Police as the Guest of Honour along with SIAM representatives, OEM partners, ACMA, NATRiP, industry experts, who highlighted the multiplicity of challenges and suggested implementable solutions based on policies, regulations and technologies for sustainable mobility that is safe, affordable, and equitable.
 
The panel also highlighted the holistic and collaborative efforts undertaken by the Government authorities in cooperation with SIAM and its members in educating and creating awareness amongst all stakeholders for effective implementation of advanced and innovative technologies for achieving the targeted goals of the month-long road safety program. The seminar emphasized specifically on building mass awareness amongst the general public and thereby creating a people’s movement for safer mobility. The seminar also stressed upon the importance of inculcating a sense of road safety amongst children from an early age.
 
Speaking at the virtual seminar, Mr Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said, “As a socially conscious organization, SIAM appreciates the criticality of road safety for all and accordingly, has been instrumental in creating awareness and educating citizens throughout the year interactive programs at the level of various stakeholders viz.  Government, OEMs, expert institutions, schools, civil society etc. In this regard, SIAM and its members have created multiple platforms for bringing together aforesaid stakeholders for the implementation of modern vehicular technology for making safe and sound vehicles and safer roads.  SIAM has proactively taken these actions to foster while ensuring safer mobility for all in spirit of its moto of ‘building the Nation, Responsibly.
 
Mr Gurpratap Boparai, Managing Director, Skoda India and Volkswagen India said, “Road safety over the years has become one of the crucial pillars of Indian automobile industry and I am honoured to be a part of this safer mobility programme. The seminar was aptly aimed at inculcating behavioural change by engaging with citizens across age group, and in a collaborative manner. We believe that contributions from all stakeholders from across verticals like OEMs, road design, infrastructural development, user discipline along with innovative and connected technology, etc., will all assist in furthering the vision of safer roads.”
 
During the deliberations, the experts elaborated on the new technologies that have been adopted in the domain of vehicular safety, road design, harmonization with global vehicular safety standards and their implementation in India to avert road fatalities and accidents. There is an emerging need for enforcing and ensuring compliance of prevailing policies, rules and regulations as these are pre-requisites to reap the full benefits of technological advancements when it comes to improving road safety. On similar lines, the seminar dwelt upon the perspectives of automobile component manufacturers on safety, usage of genuine parts, and road safety awareness creation through CSR initiatives.