Jul 22, 2024 : We had the good fortune to visit Dhempe College of Arts and Science, Panaji, Goa, where Shubhangi and I had completed our higher secondary education.
The newly appointed principal of Dhempe College, Dr Ramu Murthy, is an old childhood friend. I took the opportunity to congratulate him in person, and then requested him to organize my talk on Road Safety. Ramu readily agreed, and he set it up very nicely, as the opening event of this year’s National Social Service program. The lamp was lit by Dr Ramakrishna Dhume who was a professor of Chemistry at the same college for many years, and also led the NSS activities there.
This is the first time we addressed a college audience – students of BSc and BA. We had about 120 people in the room.
As usual, I refined my talk a bit. Goa has a very high incidence of road crashes (almost 3000 in 2023) and over 60% of them involve 2 wheelers. Hence, I put a greater emphasis on safe riding on 2 wheelers. To illustrate risks from blind spots, reduced collision avoidance space, wrong side driving, mobile usage, I picked video clips involving 2 wheelers.
We want the students to understand that there is science behind the safety principles. Hence, I show how the laws of physics govern what happens on our roads.
And Shubhangi appeals to the heart, urging everyone to think of their parents, their siblings. When she talks about our own horrific experience, it is to let people know that statistics do not matter, the loss for families cannot be measured. She urged the students to be advocates, and influence their parents. She also makes a specific appeal. This time, she had noticed that many people in Goa do not wear seat belts in the rear. The buckles are hidden inside the seat covers! So she urged everyone to make it a point to check the rear seat belts in their cars, and use them.
It was wonderful when all the people in the auditorium stood up and took the Safety Pledge in one voice.
One of the compliments we received after the talk was from the Vice Principal, Dr Swati Pawar, who said that she had never heard anyone bring forth the science behind safety. It was heartening to receive the feedback from the students, many of them have noted down 4-5 key points they took away from the session. Blind Spots and Collision Avoidance Space were new concepts for most of the students.
Thank you, dear Ramu and all the NSS volunteers for this opportunity. Let’s continue to show a positivie attitude and commitment to safety. Drive Safely!
