States first Friends of 108 club formed

CHENNAI: The state's first 'Friends of 108' club was formed in the city on Friday. The first set of college students to be trained by the popular GVK-EMRI 108 service belong to the St Thomas College of Arts and Science. Tied in with their extended NSS initiatives, the 31 students were inducted into the club and felicitated by Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sanjay Arora. Dressed in their reflective orange 'emergency' vests, the students have been trained in Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), trauma care, splint application. “During an emergency, they will be in a better position to help accident victims till the ambulance gets there," explains EMRI Regional Manager B Prabhudoss. “They know exactly what NOT to do in an emergency!” But this is just the beginning. “We are looking to extend our footprint into many more colleges across the state. The more trauma-trained students we sensitise, the better the chances of survival of any accident victim,” he adds.Arora, who was all praise for the 108 service, said that the number of accidents had almost reduced by half after the 108 service was introduced. In fact, the number of 'deaths-en-route-to-hospital' cases have become almost non-existent, thanks to the free ambulance service, he added. He also congratulated the students who had come forward to join this Friends of 108 initiative. Perhaps it is apt that the state's first 'Friends of 108' club was formed during the Road Safety Week. Most incidents of road safety violations are somehow always attributed to the college-goers, on Chennai's roads, after  all.