Road & transport become an integral part of life, shortening the distance & cutting down the time to travel from one place to another besides improving access to essential commodities & services. Along with the conveniences,  it also brings, travelers face lot of risks. The WHO estimates that about 1.3 million people die on the roads & 20-50 million people are injured in road accidents every year globally. According to the organization, road accidents are a major cause of deaths among all groups and that the likelihood of facing a traffic incident is three time higher in low income country than in a high income country. In India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highway attributes the cause of crashes to carelessness or lack of road safety awareness.

Road traffic accident (RTA) is a global disaster hampering the life of million. India accounts for a RTA rate of 6%. RTA fatality which is defined as any person dying immediately or within 30 days after a fatal accident is 25.3 per 10,000 vehicles. Nearly, 10% to 30% of the hospital registrations in India are due to RTA and it is the 6^th leading cause of death in India. Majority of the victims are from rural background belonging to the age group 15 to 44 years. RTA primarily affects the poorer sections of the society. The percentage of men affected by RTA is very high. It is difficult to assess the economic loss due to RTA as the indirect costs of such events are difficult to measure. The economic burden of the RTA is disproportionately borne by countries which are least equipped to handle it. Various studies which have looked into the knowledge of the public regarding traffic rules show poor knowledge and awareness regarding the same. Study done among school children regarding road safety practices have shown knowledge regarding various rules ranging from 30% to 60%.

As the project road undergoes major road development works due to widening work, road safety becomes a crucial factor to consider. With the improvements in project roads in rural areas, it is highly likely that current traffic, which is predominantly motorcycles, may change behaviors drastically. Speeding on smoother paved roads may be much more likely, thus it is also likely to expect increased rate of crashes and/or more severe crashes in project roads. Meanwhile, paved roads may change the road environment for rural residents, on the negative side, as all vulnerable groups of road users including pedestrians feel less safe with increased traffic speeds.  This expected situation may be aggravated if road safety measures are not taken in an inclusive manner, given the current road safety issues in rural areas, even if the project improves the project roads to best geometrically safe standards.

Hence, to prevent casualties due to road traffic accidents (RTA) mass public awareness campaigns should be initiated so that both the driver and the pedestrian will be aware of all the traffic rules properly. The ignorance of one can become fatal for the other. Road safety starts with public awareness. Irrespective of whether somebody own a vehicle or not, traffic rules should be taught to everyone to make our country RTA free. Thus, educating all stakeholders, including children, pedestrians &vehicle owners etc. of road safety is thus crucial to save millions of lives & prevent injuries. Looking to the above scenario, R&R agency CDECS organized road safety awareness campaign in the project villages & at various schools located at road side. Vehicle Owners, children, women & pedestrians were made aware about road safety. The behavior of

road users & other issues covered during road safety awareness campaign are as follows:

• Failure to wear helmet while riding two wheelers.
• Driving at an excessive or unsuitable speed.  
• Failure to wear seat belts.
• Failure to wear helmet while riding two wheeler.
• Driving at an excessive or unsuitable speed.  
• Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs.
• Use of mobile phone while driving/riding.
• Precaution taken by pedestrian especially school children while crossing road.
• Pamphlet containing important road  signs vi Mandatory signs, Cautionary signs, Informatory signs & Prohibitory signs were displayed at different government schools by R& R agency.