Optician India

From campus to crossroads: IVI drives National Road Safety Month action through youth leadership

India Vision Institute (IVI) marked National Road Safety Month through student-led initiatives across college campuses in Chennai, turning learning spaces and communities into hubs of awareness, action and responsible road behaviour. National Road Safety Month 2026 was observed from 1–31 January. 

In collaboration with Crash Free India (CFI), the campaign went beyond messaging, encouraging young people to practise safe road behaviour and influence peers, families and neighbourhoods through visible, positive action.

IVI’s CEO Vinod Daniel said, “These initiatives reinforce a simple truth: road crashes are preventable when communities commit to compliance. Helmets, seat belts and traffic-signal discipline are not merely personal choices, they are collective safeguards that reduce risk for drivers, passengers and pedestrians. Road safety is a shared responsibility and young people can drive real change. When students take these messages beyond the classroom, they make safe behaviour visible and normal in the community.”

“In parallel, IVI runs a Vision and Road Safety program across India, focused on improving commercial drivers’ vision and reinforcing safer driving practices. Under this program, we have sight tested over 450,000 commercial vehicle drivers to date and provided corrective glasses to those in need. Clear vision supports quicker hazard detection and safer driving, especially on long, demanding routes. The program also includes complementary capacity-building interventions, including Defensive Driving Training for 6,000 drivers and a Mental Awareness Program that has benefited 60,000 drivers. Together, these efforts are helping improve driver safety and reduce risk for all road users,” added Mr Daniel. 

During the Road Safety Month, the IVI team also undertook a seven-day Defensive Driving Training program is at the Attibele RTO check post near Bengaluru.

Students from Government Arts and Science College, Perumbakkam took road safety messages to Semmancheri Junction through a public rally, carrying placards promoting helmet use, seat belts and compliance with traffic signals. Responsible commuters were recognised on the spot with ‘I am a Responsible Citizen’ badges, turning everyday compliance into a moment of celebration and reinforcement.

At Madras School of Social Work (MSSW), students took part in an interactive orientation with officers from the Egmore Traffic Wing. They also contributed to a ‘Reflection Wall’ activity, identifying good practices to continue, changes they want to see, and unsafe habits to stop, culminating in a collective road safety pledge. A short-video competition is also underway, with a cash prize for the winning entry.