United Spirits Together With Mumbai Traffic Police and Institute of Road Traffic Education / Commit to Road to Safety in Mumbai

 _~ Road Safety initiative to cover capacity building training to over 50 Mumbai Traffic Police officers and host of other activities _~

by Suman Gupta 

Mumbai, 13 October, 2016: United Spirits Limited (USL), a Diageo Group Company, today together with the Mumbai Traffic Police and in partnership with the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) committed to making Mumbai roads safe with the launch of a ‘Road to Safety’ programme. The programme was inaugurated by Mr. Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner Police (IPS), Mumbai Traffic Police in the presence of Ms. Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Head – Luxury & Corporate Relations, USL. With a focus on Enforcement and Education, the programme will cover capacity building training for the police traffic officials and a series of public awareness campaigns using TV, Radio, outdoor channels, and on ground workshops over a period of 1 year.

India accounts for more than 12% of the worldwide annual average of 12.4 Million global road fatalities of which drunken driving is one of the leading causes. According to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, 611 road accident deaths were reported in Mumbai in 2015 and approx. 4029 serious injury accidents took place in the same year. As part of USL-Diageo’s Sustainability and Responsibility strategy, the ‘Road to Safety’ initiative endeavours to bring collective consciousness around responsible drinking, road-safety and, encourage citizens to ‘Never Drink and Drive.’

The capacity building training for the Mumbai Traffic Police is conducted by an expert panel of faculty of the IRTE. The deliberations include causes and consequences of road accidents, rules of road regulations and understanding traffic control devices. The training also imparts knowledge of the importance of seat belts and helmets, advantages of defensive driving and ill effects of drunken driving.

Mr. Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner Police (IPS), Mumbai Traffic Police said, “The Mumbai Traffic Police has always been committed to the safety of its people and addressing the menace of road accidents has been a priority. The successful execution of this project as a result of a partnership with various industry bodies is a progressive step forward to ensure safety of our people by upgrading our own internal capacity. We are confident that with a sustained campaign on public awareness, we will soon see a reduction in road traffic accidents in Mumbai.”

Commenting on the initiative, Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Business Head - Luxury and Corporate Relations, USL, said “At USL, our ambition is to create a positive impact in the community in which we operate. We believe that efforts to reduce the misuse of alcohol are most effective when government, civil society, individuals, families and industry work collaboratively. We are delighted with our partnership with the Mumbai Traffic Police and we are committed to take this programme to greater heights.”

Dr. Rohit Baluja, President, Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), said “Road Safety is the backbone of an efficient and safe traffic management system. I would like to compliment and congratulate the Mumbai Traffic Police for having taken this bold initiative to undertake the capacity building programme. Such an initiative would definitely reduce road traffic violations and casualties in the same proportion as the application of the initiative.”

The USL-Diageo IRTE ‘Road to Safety’ initiative in its 3^rd Year aims to provide capacity building training to traffic police officials and educate commercial drivers such as truckers and bus drivers and university students on drink driving. In the first two years the programme covered 19 states and 50 cities and trained over 3,800 police and transport officials and educated over 5,000 commercial vehicle drivers and 6,000 university students. High quality breath alcohol analysers were donated to police departments of several states.

About United Spirits Limited – United Spirits Limited (USL) is a subsidiary of Diageo plc which is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. In 2013-14, Diageo plc acquired a 54.8% shareholding in United Spirits making India one of its largest markets.

The organization prides itself on innovative products that have made a mark on the world stage by regularly winning accolades and awards from international juries. USL exports its products to over 37 countries across the globe.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, USL has a strong global footprint supported by a committed team of 5000+ employees dedicated to fulfilling the company's mission of becoming the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer goods company in India. The company has a strong distribution network and point of sale coverage and is represented in 81000 outlets across India. It has over 74 manufacturing facilities across 23 states and 3 union territories in India. 

The company is listed on the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) and NSE (National Stock Exchange). For more information about United Spirits Limited, our people, vision, brands, and performance visit us at www.unitedspirits.in.

Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.

About IRTE-The Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) is a non-profit non-governmental organization and is a member of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration and the Commission for Global Road Safety representing India. IRTE has been promoting the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) in India with the aim of reducing serious injuries and fatalities occurring due to road accidents.