Kia India has expanded its flagship road safety initiative, Project Buckle Up, with the rollout of its third phase this time in Uttarakhand. The company inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Social Lab (TSL) Foundation under the leadership of Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami for strengthening the road safety infrastructure of the state. This initiative is a part of the company's ongoing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives focused on enhancing road safety by improving infrastructure, conducting awareness campaigns, and engaging in partnerships with government authorities.

The current phase of the project will involve enhancing safety on the Dehradun-Mussoorie Highway, which is a heavily trafficked road in the area. The project will also involve the installation of smart sensor street lights, which will use solar power to provide enhanced evening and nighttime lighting at strategic locations, and will be used in conjunction with the other features. The project aims to help lower the number of road crashes and help meet the state's vision for long-term road safety goals.

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During Phase III, Kia India and TSL Foundation will be collaborating to roll out the intelligent lighting solutions that will improve visibility on one of the busiest hill roads in Uttarakhand. Smart, solar-powered sensor streetlights will automatically adjust to changing conditions, which will improve safety when driving during periods of reduced visibility from fog, rain or darkness.

The project is part of Kia India's commitment to building safer mobility ecosystems using technology-enabled infrastructure, and community participation. The company said that road safety goes beyond just making safer vehicles it also involves co-operative effort to make a safer road.

The government is encouraging industry cooperation.

The Uttarakhand Government was pleased with the initiative, emphasizing the need for collaborations between the public and private sectors in the field of road safety. Road safety continues to be infrastructure need and a social responsibility, and with millions of tourists and pilgrims passing through Uttarakhand annually, the government said.

To achieve long-term behavioural change amongst road users, partnerships between government institutions, industry and civil society institutions are key, the state administration said. It also thanked Kia India for its partnership with TSL Foundation and vowed to pave the way for more such endeavours in the future.

Kia India Highlights Long-Term Commitment

Atul Sood, Kia India Senior Vice President (SVP) Sales & Marketing, said that the company thinks mobility should bring people together while ensuring their safety. Its job isn't just to make cars, it's to make streets safe, communities safe, and build partnerships that help make communities safe, he said.

The company says Project Buckle Up will unite government agencies, education providers, industry partners and communities to foster safer driving habits and enhance road safety infrastructure. Kia India stated its vision in the long term is to make the safety of the road a joint responsibility and to encourage sustainable transport.

TSL Foundation makes Shared Responsibility a priority.

TSL Foundation CEO Sahil Arora said the partnership reflected the fact that road safety is a collective responsibility, and how it is possible for governments and other private organisations to collaborate to minimise road accidents and improve public safety. The common objective of the partnership is to ensure safer travel for all across Uttarakhand, he added.

Continuation of Earlier Phases

The third phase is based on the success achieved in Phase II of Project Buckle Up which was able to reach out to over 20,000 learners in 100 colleges in the Delhi-NCR region. One of the highlights of the programme was the use of a mobile driving simulator to give students, and new drivers, real-life experience.

The simulator has been developed to enable participants to enhance their defensive driving skills, reinforce their awareness of risk and promote driving behaviour.

Further Road Safety Measures to be implemented.

Other than the highway lighting project, Kia India is also looking for measures to be implemented in other sectors of the highway infrastructure with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), state government departments, civil administration and implementation partners.

These include the deployment of 500 Kia-branded road safety barricades at strategic locations to enhance traffic management, and installation of speed attenuators along the Delhi - Uttarakhand highway corridor to minimize accident risks.

Urbana Innovations in Gurgaon

The initiative, Project Buckle Up was launched initially for road safety in Gurugram. In Phase-I, Kia India worked with the Gurugram Traffic Police and the local administration to identify the accident hotspots and enhance the safety measures.

The company has also contributed 750 reflective crash barriers to improve visibility, control traffic flow, and aid in accident prevention—especially at night and in low-light situations—as part of that effort.

Broader Vision for Sustainable Mobility

As Phase III kicks off, Project Buckle Up remains focused on both awareness campaigns and infrastructure changes, but with the added emphasis being on engineering. Along with manufacturing safer vehicles, Kia India will make an effort to work towards safer road networks through smart technology, education and collaboration with public authorities.

The initiative is part of the company's overall CSR efforts to promote sustainable, sustainable transportation through concrete measures to upgrade road transport infrastructure, promote responsible driving behaviour, and improve safety of commuters in India.