Karishma Kapoor Pledges For Road Safety In India - Launches Season 3 of the USL-Diageo Road to Safety initiative

United Spirits Limited (USL), a Diageo Group Company, today announced the launch of Season 3 ofits Road to Safety initiative with Bollywood actor - Karisma Kapoor pledging her support for the cause of road safety in India. As part of the launch was a special panel discussion on ‘Road Safety: New Challenges and the Road Ahead’ attended by Suhel Seth – CEO, Counselage India, Shaina NC – Spokesperson BJP, Abanti Sankaranarayanan - Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer, USL, Seji Cherian - CEO, Save Life Foundation, Dr. Shankar Vishwanath - Hon’ble advisor, Mumbai Traffic Police, and Dr. Sanjay Oak – Ex Dean, KEM Hospital, sharing their insights and solutions for issues affecting road safety in India.

With over 1,45,000 fatalities a year, India accounts for 12.5% of global road accidents. Launched in 2014, USL-Diageo’s signature intervention, ‘Road to Safety’ endeavours to bring a collective consciousness around responsible drinking and road safety through various touch-points of television, radio and social media , encouraging citizens, especially the Indian youth to ‘Never Drink and Drive.’

This campaign also includes working with law enforcement agencies and government bodies to provide capacity-building training to India’s traffic police officials and educating commercial drivers and university students on the perils of drunk driving.

Speaking about this initiative, Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer, USL, said “At USL, we believe that alcohol, when consumed in moderation and responsibly can be part of a normal lifestyle. We also recognize that excessive and harmful consumption of alcohol can lead to problems for individuals and society. Research shows that drunk driving is a major concern in India, which led us to launch the Road To Safety initiative. In the last 3 years, through strategic partnerships with not-for-profit organisations, governments, media and civil society, this program has created significant awareness of the problem and its potential solutions. We are committed to play our role to reduce drunk driving and the harmful consumption of alcohol.”

Supporting the initiative, Karisma Kapoor, Bollywood Celebrity said, “Road Safety is a growing concern and I believe that road safety measures need to be taken seriously. As a mother, whenever my children head out and are on the road, I’m always concerned that someone else might be careless. I strongly urge everyone to Never Drink and Drive and support the Designated Driver concept by USL-Diageo.”

In Season 3, citizens will be encouraged to celebrate responsibly by nominating a ‘Designated Driver’ during social occasions and celebrations, inspiring them to play a crucial role in road safety in India.

Till date, the ‘Road to Safety’ programme has:

•          Covered 22 states and 53 cities in India

•          Trained 4000 police officials on traffic regulations, enforcement of drunken driving offences; types and correct usage of breath alcohol analysers.

•          Donated high quality breath alcohol analyzers to police departments of several states

Taught 6000 university students about the perils of drunk drinking and underage drinking

•          Educated 5000 drivers of commercial vehicles (school buses, auto rickshaws, trucks and buses) on the dangers of drunk driving

•          Received over 3,00,000 pledges to “Never Drink & Drive’ from people from all walks of life through the social media and on-ground activations.