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‘Charity begins at home, so does road safety’ – the Kerala Motor Vehicles department (MVD) communicates through a short film ‘Vidarum Munpe’ that would be released at SCMS, Kalamassery, on Sunday. This is in connection with the observance of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
The third Sunday of November is set apart for its observance by the UN, what with over 13 lakh people dying each year due to road accidents, of which 1.5 lakh are in India.
The 22-minute film that portrays a real-life incident in which MVD personnel from the Perumbavoor Sub-RTO Office play different roles, takes a poignant insight into the trauma of a young man after his careless driving results in his daughter being run over by the SUV he drives. The incident occurred earlier this year in the compound of a man’s house, in the suburbs of Ernakulam, before the eyes of the child’s mother and grandparents.
Over half a dozen such incidents were reported across Kerala this year alone, while either father or mother were taking their four-wheeler out of the house or while reversing, said Deepu N.K., Motor Vehicle Inspector (MVI) who was attached to the Perumbavoor Sub-RTO Office when the incident occurred. He readied the script and dialogues of the film.
Vidarum Munpe (meaning ‘before a flower blossoms’) drives home the message that parents must first inculcate the habit of safe driving themselves, since children tend to emulate their parents or elders, he added and exhorted them to exercise caution even while in a hurry. Mr. Deepu’s daughter, Chandana Deepu, plays the role of the accident victim.
He has narrated his own ordeal after he probed the accident. He was woken up frequently from sleep for a week by what sounded like a child calling out to her father. He spoke of the incident to the Transport Commissioner S. Srijith (whose message is included in the film), who assured full support if an awareness film was shot.
Pointing to a spree of accidents that occurred during the past few months – including that of a child getting caught in between a car driven by her mother and a wall of her house in Kozhikode, and one earlier this month in which a man and his son died after their car nosedived into a well near their house, MVD officials said people must be doubly cautious, especially while driving or parking on hilly terrain and near waterbodies.
Autobahn Trucking produced the film as part of its social commitment, while it was directed by Benoy Pattimattom. “The National Safety Trust, IMA, and District Legal Services Authority have assured all help to popularise the film,” said Shaji Madhavan, Deputy Transport Commissioner.
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