Road safety cannot be ensured merely through laws and penalties but must become a personal responsibility, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Thursday. She was speaking at the 26th Annual Conference of the Society of Automotive Fitness and Environment (SAFE) and the SIAM Green Plate EV Rally held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
Addressing participants, Gupta administered a pledge to follow traffic rules, adding that safe driving practices should become part of everyday life. “Not wearing helmets or seatbelts, or breaking traffic rules, is not an act of bravery but of irresponsibility,” she said.
The event, which drew automobile industry representatives, policymakers and environmental experts, focused on road safety, sustainable mobility and environmental protection. Industry and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa was also present.
Gupta flagged off an electric vehicle rally and inaugurated an exhibition on road safety. She described the rally as an opportunity to spread awareness on pollution and sustainable transport, noting that Delhi’s efforts to tackle its chronic air quality problems would depend on greater public participation in adopting cleaner vehicles.
Reiterating her government’s policies, the Chief Minister said Delhi is working towards a fully electric public transport fleet by 2026. She said subsidies for EV purchases and the expansion of charging infrastructure were intended to encourage wider adoption.
While the government can take measures, Gupta said, reducing pollution and ensuring safer roads would ultimately require a change in mindset among citizens. “Rules should be followed not for the government, but for one’s own safety,” she added.
The programme highlighted the dual challenges facing Delhi — curbing rising vehicular emissions and improving road safety — and called for cooperation between government, industry and residents to make the capital cleaner and safer.