LUCKNOW, Sept. 9 -- The Uttar Pradesh transport department has drawn up a proposal for a community-based road safety programme aimed at cutting road crashes and fatalities in the state by 50%. The plan follows chief minister Yogi Adityanath's remarks at a transport department function on Saturday, where he voiced concern over rising road mishaps and deaths. A proposal for in-principle approval of the 'Uttar Pradesh Sadak Suraksha Saathi (SSS)' volunteer support system has been sent to the state government. Notably, the recent 'Road Accidents in India 2023' report shows that UP lost 23,652 lives in 2023, the highest in India Transport commissioner Brajesh Narain said the programme, based on the 5E model of Enforcement, Engineering, Education, Emergency Care and Evaluation, would deploy 3,510 trained volunteers, 10 in each tehsil, to support enforcement officers without penal powers. "Their role will include school-zone marshalling, helmet and seat-belt counselling, work-zone safety support, pedestrian assistance, and geo-tagged reporting of accident-prone spots," he explained. The volunteers, to be supervised by assistant regional transport officers (ARTO) in coordination with police and local bodies, will undergo a two-day training in first-aid, crowd management and traffic etiquette. They will receive ID cards, reflective jackets, handbooks and kits, along with a proposed honorarium of Rs 3,000 per month through direct benefit transfer (DBT). Narain added that the scheme was designed under the guidance of the CM and transport minister to combine visible presence, behavioural change and field data for measurable outcomes. "The SSS system will accelerate local committee decisions into on-ground outcomes with low cost and high impact," he said. The department has identified overspeeding, the 3 pm to 9 pm time window, and district roads as the biggest risk factors. The volunteer system is expected to fill manpower gaps, support technology-driven enforcement and prevent secondary crashes. Once the government gives in-principle approval, a detailed scheme, including SOPs, selection criteria, financial memorandum and rollout calendar, will be presented within 30 working days. A pilot project will be launched before statewide rollout. The department has also sought corporate social responsibility and community partnerships to fund volunteer kits, training and micro-safety upgrades, with industries and institutions encouraged to adopt school zones or accident black spots. The CM had said that road safety remained the state's biggest challenge, adding that road accidents claimed more lives every year than Covid did in three years. He directed officials to take strong measures to address the issue....