Sung and composed by music maestro, Shri Shankar Mahadevan and launched by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, ‘Ride to Safety’ anthem by ICICI Lombard, the non-life insurance companies of India, aims at bringing about a behavioural change towards road safety in India.
According to a 2018 World Bank report, India accounts for the highest number of road accidents globally, with 1.5 lakh people being killed annually in road accidents. The loss due to these events amount to over 3 percent of India’s GDP. The report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in October 2020, states that, more than a third (37 percent) of those killed in road accidents in 2019 were two-wheeler riders. Not wearing helmets resulted in the death of 44,666 people (30,148 drivers and 14,518 pillions) i.e. 29.8 percent of total road accident fatalities in 2019.
The Ride to Safety campaign by ICICI Lombard is a nationwide initiative with the motive of creating action oriented road safety program, especially among children and parents. Since 2016, over 700 road safety workshops have been held in the metros and other major cities across India, spreading awareness among 200,000+ children and their parents. Further, over 130,000 children and their parents have received ISI-marked child-specific helmets, as part of the exercise
For emphasizing the key objective, ICICI Lombard has opted for a creative approach of ‘lyrical storytelling’ as a medium of expression, conveying the safety guidelines and the dos & don’ts while riding/ driving a two-wheeler or four-wheeler. The anthem aims at spreading the social message to the masses in a strong and heartfelt manner.
The anthem is being promoted across ICICI Lombard’s social media assets and digital platforms along with traditional media such as radio and to increase the anthem’s visibility, social media influencers will also be involved in the campaign.
Detailing about the campaign, Bhargav Dasgupta, MD & CEO, ICICI Lombard, said, “At ICICI Lombard, we are committed to contribute to the cause of Road safety. The anthem introduced as part of our ‘Ride To Safety’ program is aimed at amplifying our Road Safety messaging and bringing about a behavioural change among people when it comes to adopting safer road habits. I would like to express my gratitude to Shri Nitin Gadkari ji for unveiling this anthem and lending his support to this important cause. I would also like to thank Shri Shankar Mahadevan for partnering us in creating this unique anthem, which can become a symbol of road safety and effectively persuade vehicle users to demonstrate the correct driving behaviour for their own safety and for the benefit of others.”
