A road safety rally resonating with slogans is a great way to raise awareness about the issue. And when conducted outside the school gates involving children, the effect can be arresting. DAV Public School in Velachery has done just that seeking to instil responsible road behaviour among citizens.

The school recently won the National Road Safety Education Excellence Awards 2025–26 in the gold category, instituted by the National Road Safety Mission for Schools, a nationwide, collaborative, non-government initiative led by Academia Axis Edtech, International Road Federation (IRF) India Chapter and Eduxa.ai.

Uma S, supervisory head, DAV Public School, says organising a road safety rally around the school was challenging as it involves getting permission from the police and taking a lot of precautionary measures, but people on the road take note as children steer these exercises.

Putting up a message board at the school struck a cord with many visiting the campus. Students made an imprint of the message and displayed it. Messages include insisting that the parent wear a helmet even when the journey covers a short distance.

“We spoke to students to find that many had posted a message calling attention to road safety measure their parents were not taking,” says Uma.

Since the school signed up for National Road Safety Mission for Schools in December 2025, they chalked out a series of activities spread across months. The Central Board of Secondary Education had also sent out a circular in January 2026 asking schools to drive programmes as part of Road Safety Month, giving greater impetus to the campaign.

Uma says when taking up such campaigns it is important to involve parents.

“We sent out a circular to parents across classes that the school has signed up for the programme and children are being trained to become road safety ambassadors. Such communication is important to engage parents, and we had children taking home one message a day,” she says.

Traffic rules, pedestrian safety, helmet awareness, seat belt usage, emergency precautions and responsible road behaviour were effectively disseminated through colourful posters, slogan writing competitions, chart presentations, speeches, mime shows, skits, and classroom discussions.

Other highlights include principal Sujatha M administering the Road Safety Oath. Through continuous awareness activities, the school hopes to instil the message on road safety hard.