WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is partnering with 3M to improve road safety conditions for children in India through safer routes to school. The project will draw on the extensive experience of 3M and WRI to gain a deeper understanding of the road safety situation around schools in Delhi and Mumbai through data analysis and implement targeted interventions that embody the “Safe System” approach to road safety.

According to data from the National Records Bureau, every year about 145,000 people lose their lives on India’s roads, the highest number in the world, including more than 15,600 children. This amounts to the death of 43 children on India’s roads every day. In 2015, 5.8% of all crashes were reported to have taken place in the vicinity of schools, colleges and other educational institutions. Over 50% of all crashes in Mumbai are pedestrian crashes. 

Road safety is a major area of concern for children and families in how they choose to travel to school. A recent survey of children in one school in Mumbai by WRI India revealed that over 50% children live within 2 kilometers of their school, and close to 25% live within 1 kilometer. However, many children travel to school on motorized two-wheelers or in personal automobiles since walking conditions are unsafe due to poor-quality or nonexistent sidewalks.

WRI and 3M have a shared commitment to improve road safety conditions for children around the world. This includes collecting and analyzing data, selecting two schools to identify road safety issues and provide recommendations for solutions, supporting implementation of those solutions, measuring short- and long-term impact, and providing a report of the learnings. This deeper understanding will help inform larger-scale interventions, for example through regulation and/or state/city plans, to help better protect children commuting to school.

This project is grounded in strong data analysis and tactical urbanism to engage decision-makers and demonstrate that change is possible. Through this partnership, WRI and 3M will draw on their shared experience and technical knowledge in road safety as well as their understanding of the local context to help create systemic change for children vulnerable to road traffic injury.

 

3M Transportation Safety Division

At 3M Transportation Safety Division, our mission is to improve traffic safety and mobility, so families can reach home safely. We are among the global leaders in developing products, systems and services for road safety, vehicle registration and safety. A traffic safety innovator for 75 years, 3M technologies are used to produce high performance prismatic reflective sheeting for traffic signs, a full portfolio of bright and durable pavement markings, reflective materials for work zone applications, vehicle markings and license plates. For more information about 3M’s traffic safety solutions, visit https://www.3mindia.in/3M/en_IN/road-safety-in/. For more information about 3M road safety and school zone safety programs, please connect with us at https://www.3mindia.in/3M/en_IN/road-safety-in/support/contact-us/.

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About WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is the World Resources Institute’s program dedicated to shaping a future where cities work better for everyone. It enables more connected, compact and coordinated cities. The Center expands the transport and urban development expertise of the EMBARQ network to catalyze innovative solutions in other sectors, including air quality, water, buildings, land use and energy. It combines the research excellence of WRI with two decades of on-the-ground impact through a network of more than 350 experts working from Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Turkey and the United States to make cities around the world better places to live. More information at www.wrirosscities.org.