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Cars24 puts drunk driving wreckage on billboards to sober up New Year revelry
MUMBAI: When the party lights blur, some reminders need to hit harder than a warning sign. This New Year season, Cars24 has swapped slick billboards for something far more unsettling: real, wrecked cars mounted across busy stretches of Delhi, Gurugram and Pune.
Launched on December 29, the outdoor campaign turns everyday commutes into moments of reckoning. Instead of stylised visuals or dramatic graphics, Cars24 has placed genuine accident-damaged vehicles on hoardings, forcing passers-by to confront the physical aftermath of drunk driving, not the abstract risk.
The timing is deliberate. Drunk driving remains a stubborn and deadly problem in India, particularly during festive peaks. On New Year’s Eve alone last year, enforcement agencies booked hundreds of offenders across major cities. National estimates for 2024 point to nearly 14,390 road accidents linked to drunk driving, claiming over 6,542 lives. Even official figures from the ministry of road transport and highways recorded 9,143 alcohol-related accidents and 3,674 fatalities in 2023, underlining the scale of the challenge.
By placing mangled cars in plain sight, the campaign relies on realism rather than shock tactics. The message is simple but difficult to ignore, celebrations last a night, consequences last far longer. Repeated exposure on high-traffic routes, paired with digital amplification, is designed to make that cost linger in people’s minds before they pick up their keys.
“As a company built around mobility, we know that every decision behind the wheel matters,” said Cars24 co-founder and group CMO Gajendra Jangid. “‘Drink and Drive’ is not about awareness alone, it is about accountability. If even one person pauses, puts the keys down and chooses safety, the campaign has done its job.”
The initiative reinforces Cars24’s wider push for responsible mobility and safer driving behaviour. As the year winds down and celebrations ramp up, the brand’s message cuts through the noise: no night out is worth a life, and some reminders are meant to stay long after the hangover fades.
MAM
Raghu Rai passes away at 83, leaves behind iconic legacy
Padma Shri-winning photographer documented history across 5 decades.
MUMBAI: The lens may have stilled, but the stories it captured will never fade. Raghu Rai, one of India’s most celebrated photojournalists, passed away on April 26, 2026, at the age of 83. He breathed his last at a private hospital in New Delhi after battling cancer and age-related health issues.
His son, Nitin Rai, revealed that Rai had been diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago, which later spread to the stomach and, more recently, the brain. Despite multiple rounds of treatment, his health had declined in recent months.
Born in 1942 in Jhang, Punjab (now in Pakistan), Rai entered photography in his early twenties, inspired by his elder brother, photographer S. Paul. Beginning his career in the mid-1960s, he went on to build a body of work that spanned more than five decades, contributing to global publications such as Time, Life, GEO, Le Figaro, The New York Times, Vogue, GQ and Marie Claire.
His global recognition took a decisive leap in 1977 when legendary French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson nominated him to join Magnum Photos, placing him among the world’s most respected visual storytellers.
Rai’s lens chronicled both power and poignancy. He photographed towering figures such as Indira Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Bal Thackeray, Satyajit Ray and Mother Teresa, while also documenting defining moments like the Bhopal gas tragedy later captured in his book Exposure: A Corporate Crime.
Over the years, he published more than 18 books, building an archive that blended journalism with artistry. His contributions were recognised early when he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972 for his coverage of the Bangladesh War and refugee crisis. In 1992, he was named “Photographer of the Year” in the United States for his work in National Geographic, and in 2009, he was honoured with the Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
Rai is survived by his wife Gurmeet, son Nitin, and daughters Lagan, Avani and Purvai. His last rites will be held at Lodhi Cremation Ground in New Delhi at 4 pm on Sunday.
With his passing, Indian photojournalism loses not just a pioneer, but a patient observer of history, one frame at a time.
