By Vishal Menda
Ever since you were in the third grade, you’ve told that the Red light on the traffic signal is to stop and Green one is to go. For it should be in the back of your head that these things are said and done only for your own safety.

Pune is notorious for its harsh drivers and society who do not follow the most basic of rules. So we shouldn’t be one messing with the long arm of the law, because it is high time we as citizens took the initiative and strived to follow these regulations.
Hence the Rotary Club of Pune Central along with the City Police and local newspapers and NGO’s has started plenty of campaigns.

It could be the Wear the Helmet Campaign, the Road-Star Campaign or just the City Traffic Police asking locals to wear their Seatbelts and obey basic traffic rules. All of these small things, sooner rather than later, are sure going to go a long way.

One such unique campaign is the Road-Star which is basically about rewarding those who follow traffic rules and instead of handing out fines and penalties for breaking rules, the campaign works on getting people excited about following rules. The objective of the campaign is to spread goodwill, positive culture and mutual trust & respect amongst the riders on the roads. We also feel that the campaign will help promote good driving practices through this ‘recognize & reward’ program and make ROADSTARs out of good drivers.

In this campaign conducted on Pune roads, motor riders following road rules will be spotted by volunteers and guides and recognized & rewarded on the spot. So volunteers choose traffic signals where traffic volume is high, find people who are following rules, tell them how thankful they are about them following rules and give them a road-star sticker.
One volunteer, Ayesha said that the response they were getting was good, but more or less mixed. Some people refused to roll down their car windows and listen to us, but others were happy we noticed them wearing their seatbelts and that they stopped on the line. They appreciated it and complimented us. Also most importantly, many people were open to the idea, which was very pleasing.

Following traffic rules has always been a problem hasn’t it? However at least now we know that there are people who are trying in a small way to get people aware. We may be slow to start, but we should be quick to finish and now all that remains is to take this initiative to the next level and make sure we make Pune a better, much safer place to live in.