Safety Begins With Me - #TheSafeHabit

To Natasha,

As I strolled down the empty lane, there seemed a void difficult to fill in the midnight. Way past the twelve-o-clock line,  I knew you would be angry. It was our wedding anniversary, and I did not forget it, believe me. Struck up in some office work, you were constantly there in my thoughts, and I wished to reach home as soon as possible. The minutes were tickling slower than ever, it seemed that it would take eternity to entrap the hand a full rotation of that watch's dial. Or, probably, it was my stare which had forced it to stop in its tracks, I was unaware. We all wrapped up the remaining work, and I left for home. My friends, told me to have a drink to relax, for it had been many long hours that we all had been working. You might not believe me, but I refused. I apologized, and I left. I was proud, I was happy, that I was finally coming back to you. I did look for flower merchants all along the way, I couldn't find one.

It seemed a long way, 20 minutes to home, were suddenly the hours which I would cross. It was similar to a desert crossing, remember? You had told me about one. As I passed certain landmarks, each made me remember you, and I started to plan the things we would do the following day. I passed the theater where we watched our first movie, I passed our first restaurant, where we dined. I passed the lanes where we would have walks back in our days. Everything seemed coming back to me, and it all seemed wonderful. Honestly, I couldn't decide onto what we would do tomorrow. Whatever it was, I wanted it to be with you. 

Have you ever wondered about the night traffic lights? They blink together, the reds as if signifying some kind of harmony with each other, and it reminded me of you again. It reminded me of times when we stood out together, blinking away problems just like that.

Thanks to Source

I was missing you too much, I knew you wouldn't have been to bed yet, you must be waiting for me. So I drove faster, I wanted to reach to you, I wanted to be with you as soon as possible. In a blink of an eye, in a spur of a moment. I picked up my phone, to hear your voice, hardly did I know, I was doing it for the last time. With each tune keypad played as I typed your name on my phone, death immortalized in me, which I did not seem to realize. Perhaps, it was too late to realize, after the truck had struck the car in full force, and I was lying helpless, with my phone in my hand, and the dial pad finally pressed. I wanted to apologize, I would not be able to make it. I would not answer your waiting call, or I would not celebrate the day tomorrow. I wanted to apologize, I had made a 'you' out of 'we'. 

Please don't cry Natasha, it was my fault. Do not blame the truck driver, I was on the phone trying to connect to you. I apologize for many things, but significantly for giving you a gift which you never deserved. If there would been any last wish of mine, it would be just, do tell our children, that Safety Begins With Us. You might never receive this letter Natasha, for god doesn't deliver them from here.

~*~*~*~

It is truly important to understand the meaning of life, and being a path of life, a path where all destinations connect, Safe driving has got to be the numero uno position to take care of.
You see, quite honestly, everything starts from us. A beautiful quote by Mahatma Gandhi, reflects this simple thinking in the smallest yet, largest things in life. It says, "Be the change you want to see the world in". Quite similarly, it is not just the defining or shouting screams to other drivers/motorists for not driving properly, but also to hold a mirror in front and look at ourselves. 

There can be number of steps that can be taken to improve the prevention of such disastrous outcomes:-

• In a nation of population more than 1 billion, there has to be a crowd jumbling at a station, but then again, don't we know the steps to arrange the stack? A personal level training to each obtainment of driving license should be done. We need to show, that not-everywhere you can make the green notes work.
• There have been thousands or more than that, campaigns of opposition of Drink and Drive, yet there seems un-matched ignorance in terms of this simplified idea. It not only hurts you, but the ones without it too.
•  Coming back to the use of hari patti, Its time it shouldn't work on traffic police.
• Have your vehicle checked on regular basis to avoid any discoveries on the spot of accident? You see, precaution is better than the cure. 

And not only these, if above all - we respect the ones waiting for us at home, at places where we left them, then situations would rather take a different turn.

Tanishq Sharma

This post is written for Nissan Safety Driving Forum. It conveys that Responsibility on the road is not just toward's one's own self but also to the other motorists and pedestrians. In a blog post, tell us what steps, according to you, would help with road safety in India.

Do have a look at the information below.

The Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., conducts the Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF) in India as part of its safety driving promotion activities. The program began as an annual activity in 2012. In its initial phase it covered three main Indian cities – New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai – and since then has gradually expanded to several additional cities across India. This year, NSDF would reach 8 new cities – Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Vadodara, Nagpur, Chennai, Mangalore and Kochi. The overall reach and engagement levels have phenomenally grown and NSDF has effectively reached close to 2 lakh citizens. It continues to stay committed to its core objective of promoting safe driving behaviour in India. Compared to the previous year, NSDF has witnessed an impressive 126% growth in the sensitisation of wearing seatbelts. In addition, NSDF also conducts live simulated experiences around air bags through a simulated car crash. A 360-degree turn over highlights the use of seat belts, while sessions on road safety emphasises on road etiquette to stay safe. Under its Blue Citizenship CSR umbrella, NSDF by Nissan works to build awareness of safe driving in India. NSDF encourages drivers and passengers to wear seat belts, and participants learn through interactive activities the importance of wearing sea tbelts. Nissan seeks to support reducing fatalities and injuries caused by traffic accidents, and NSDF represents the company's commitment in contributing to young, vibrant and mobile India.

About the Blue Citizenship

Blue Citizenship is the commitment of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. to realise our vision of Enriching People's Lives. We commit to our customers, shareholders, employees and the communities where we do business to deliver engaging, valuable and sustainable mobility for all. Through our business activities, we aim to create economic value and to actively contribute towards the development of a sustainable society.