Can We Rethink How We Keep Our Streets Safe?

Yesterday, as I sat with my notes, piecing together ideas for a new road safety fellowship, I found myself wondering. When did something as simple as crossing the street or riding a bike become so dangerous? I thought about the helmets left hanging on handlebars, the seat belts clicked behind the seat to trick the warning beep, the hurried driver jumping a red light. I thought about the numbers too, nearly 400 children in Gujarat lost each month because of road accidents.

This fellowship I am shaping is not just about traffic lights and technical fixes. It is about people. About how we think, how we behave, and how we can change. It will bring together young minds from psychology, political science, engineering and other fields to work on seat belts, helmets, child safety, policy gaps, emergency responses and the way the media tells these stories.

Road safety is not only a rulebook issue. It is a culture issue. If we can shift the way we think about our streets, we can shift the way we use them.