Traffic cops take the cricket route for safety on roads
Rules shared by police on Twitter, other social media platforms to make driving easy
It is the IPL cricket season and it is not just the hardhitting batsmen who have been hitting the ball over the boundary line. The Cyberabad Traffic Police (CTP) too has thrown its hat into the ring and if its initial performance is anything to go by, it is well on its way to hit the ball out of the park.
In a series of posts on Twitter and other social media platforms over the past three days, the CTP shared what it called ‘Road Safety Lessons from IPL 2020’ using images from the games so far to make telling points about why it is a good idea to follow road rules. And the messages make no bones about what lies in wait for those who ignore traffic rules and safety norms.
“There is no Super Over in our life to get another chance,” reads one message. “Follow traffic rules. Save lives,” the message superimposed on a screen-grab from the Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab game on September 21. Two more such messages were picked up from subsequent matches.
“The idea is to relate popular trending topics to road safety issues,” says Mohammad Khaja, a constable with CTP and part of their three-member social media team adding, “our attempt is to inspire people to pay attention to traffic and road safety rules.”
One of the more popular messages Khaja and his teammates developed starred Tollywood actor Nandamuri Balakrishna.
“Even Balakrishna responded to our message saying he liked it and was happy to
be part of such traffic safety awareness initiatives,” Khaja says. “We want to get our messages across that road safety is a priority and in an entertaining manner when possible,” he says.
“The team does a tremendous job on this front,” says CTP’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vijay Kumar, adding “Khaja
is a rare find. He is very well read, very creative and is not common to find someone like him in the force.”
“The entire drive of the social media team of CTP is not to get some publicity for ourselves but about finding the best way to connect with people, educate and inform them,” Vijay Kumar explains.
“Using social media works for both sides-for us to get our messages across and for people to connect with us with their grievances, alerts and any requests. The best part is that it is instant communication,” the official says.
It is not just entertaining
messages that CTP’s social media team focuses on. From time to time, it writes its own news reports about road accidents and posts them highlighting the cause for an accident, the impact it has left on a family and how a tragedy could have been averted.