Abbey Road isn’t just a top selling album by the iconic British group, The Beatles. The image of John, Paul, Ringo and George crossing the street is now being used by the Calcutta Traffic Police to teach pedestrians about the proper use of zebra crossings. The famous picture and album cover is credited to Ian Macmillan. The road safety posters can be found all over the city, featuring the Fab Four with a caption “If they can, why can’t you?” Forty of these posters have been placed all over Calcutta by the traffic police to inspire pedestrians to use the proper pedestrian crossings and limit jaywalking in the city.
Pedestrian fatalities
The traffic safety posters are in response to the growing number of pedestrian road fatalities. According to the World Health Organization, in countries like India, traffic safety is a major issue, especially with more than half of the fatalities recorded involving pedestrians.
In 2012, the pedestrian fatalities have decreased by 20% in Calcutta. It was down by 635 in 2011 to 492 as of August 15 of last year. The target of the traffic police is to bring down total pedestrian fatalities to under 1,800 a year.
Timeless posters
The intention of the posters isn’t necessarily to preach, but to create awareness among the citizens, according to the Joint Commissioner of Police Supratim Sarkar. “We wanted a catchy and appealing campaign and we hit upon the idea of using the Beatles and cash in on their universal popularity,” the commissioner was quoted saying.
Officer in Charge of Planning and Survey Traffic Anuj Roy said, “Our campaign is to spread awareness on the importance of road safety by following traffic rules and regulations.”
The Kolkata police had played around with various pop icons to help spread awareness on pedestrian traffic safety. Other ideas included using the images of Shakira and even the 2012 Worldwide hit, Gangnam Style by Korean pop sensation PSY.
However, the Beatles album cover dating back to 1969 was eventually chosen because of its “timeless appeal.”
The Calcutta Traffic Police say that it will take some time before the effects of the campaign can be seen. It will be a few months before they can determine if the campaign is a success.
Other measures
The use of the Beatles’ crossing the road to promote pedestrian traffic safety is part of an ongoing campaign to improve road safety in the country’s capital. Some other measures that have been implemented include using pedestrian signals, speed-calming rumble strips, reducing the speed limit in certain areas, performing speed checks with the aid of interceptor devices and putting up various road signages where needed.
Some of the roads where these have been particularly effective are Outer Ring Road, Ring Road, Rohtak Road, Mathura Raod, GT Karnal Road and the National Highway 24.
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