Did you know that road accidents are the No. 1 cause of death for healthy Americans traveling abroad? According to USA Today’s analysis of State Department data, on average, one American traveler dies on a foreign road every 36 hours.
The U.S. Department of State is working with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other multilateral organizations, with foreign governments, with other U.S. Government agencies, and non-governmental organizations on a number of initiatives to advance international road safety.
May 11, 2011 marks the official launch date of the Decade of Action for Road Safety, which was adopted in the March 2010 UN General Assembly resolution on Global Road Safety. The goal of the Decade of Action is to raise awareness of the impacts of road crashes on public health throughout the world and to promote interventions to reduce road crashes by 50% by the Decade’s end in 2020.
For more information, visit WHO Decade of Action for Road Safety.
For traffic safety and road conditions in India, visit India Country Information on travel.state.gov
We bring this message to your attention so you can carefully consider the information it contains. Please pass along the information below to the U.S. citizens in your area or put this information on your notice boards for dissemination. Thank you for your cooperation.
The U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulates in India alert U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in India to ongoing security issues. The U.S. government continues to be concerned that terrorist groups could be planning attacks that could take place in locations throughout India. U.S. citizens should be alert to the possibility that the death of the terrorist Osama Bin Laden could accelerate decisions by terrorists about the timing of attacks. U.S. citizens should review the Worldwide Travel Alert issued by the Department of State on May 1, 2011, and the Worldwide Caution of January 31, 2011.
The U.S. Department of State alerts U.S. citizens traveling and residing abroad to the enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counter-terrorism activity in Pakistan. Given the uncertainty and volatility of the current situation, U.S. citizens in areas where recent events could cause anti-American violence are strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations. U.S. citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times. This Travel Alert expires August 1, 2011.
U.S. Embassy operations in affected areas will continue to the extent possible under the constraints of any evolving security situation. U.S. government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. These facilities may temporarily close or periodically suspend public services to assess their security posture. In those instances, U.S. Embassies and Consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens abroad are urged to monitor the local news and maintain contact with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
A prominent Muslim politician, Akbaruddin Ovisi, was attacked in Hyderabad’s Old City neighborhood on 30 April 2011. American citizens are advised to avoid the Old City until potential civil unrest subsides.
U.S. citizens resident or traveling in Andhra Pradesh are reminded to maintain a high level of security awareness at all times and avoid political rallies, demonstrations, and large crowds of any kind. U.S. citizens should monitor the situation via media sources, including TV, radio, and via the Internet.
U.S. citizens traveling or residing in India are encouraged to enroll with the U.S. Embassy through the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security. U.S. citizens without Internet access may enroll directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By enrolling, U.S. citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. For additional information, please refer to “A Safe Trip Abroad.”
For the latest security information, U.S. citizens living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs internet website at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, and health information resources can be found. Information on local conditions is also available at ACSess, the American Citizen Services blog of U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad, at http://blogs.usembassy.gov/hyderabad/.
Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada or, for callers in other areas, by calling a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). U.S. citizens are also encouraged to read the Country Specific Information for India.
The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to anticipate possible civil unrest around Anantapur in southern Andhra Pradesh following the death on April 24th of the religious leader Sathya Sai Baba. We recommend U.S. citizens avoid traveling to Puttaparthi in Anantapur, as well as Whitefield (near Bangalore) and Kodai Kanal, Tamil Nadu, the sites of two other ashrams, due to the possibility of demonstrations or crowd control issues arising in the emotionally charged atmosphere.
Sai Baba’s death will be a source of grief for many of his followers, and the area around Anantapur has seen public expressions of mourning as a large number of people wishing to pay their respects have arrived in the area. State police have shifted significant security resources to the area and have established barricades in the area around the Prashanthi Nilayam ashram, where they are inspecting travel documents of many visitors. Police have implemented Section 144 prohibitions forbidding public gatherings and many commercial establishments are closed.
Devotees of Sai Baba in Hyderabad and other cities may also express their grief publicly. Although we expect no violence, American citizens are warned to maintain their security awareness and follow the standard guidance of avoiding large public gatherings. Processions or spontaneous events may block routes through the city unpredictably.
U.S. citizens resident or traveling in Andhra Pradesh, Bangalore and Kodai Kanal during this period are reminded to maintain a high level of security awareness at all times and avoid political rallies, demonstrations, and large crowds of any kind. U.S. citizens should monitor the situation via media sources, including TV, radio, and via the internet.
U.S. citizens traveling or residing in India are encouraged to enroll with the U.S. Embassy through the State Department’sSmart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security. U.S. citizens without internet access may enroll directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By enrolling, U.S. citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. For additional information, please refer to “A Safe Trip Abroad.”
For the latest security information, U.S. citizens living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs internet website at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, and health information resources can be found. Information on local conditions is also available at ACSess, the American Citizen Services blog of U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad, at http://blogs.usembassy.gov/hyderabad/.
Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada or, for callers in other areas, by calling a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). U.S. citizens are also encouraged to read the Country Specific Information for India.
SCAMS ARE NO JOKING MATTER; DON’T BECOME AN APRIL FOOL
Being the butt of an April fool’s joke is fine when it is good-natured fun. However, no one wants to fall victim to a scam artist or identity thief.
You may think you are safe simply by not carrying your Social Security card with you and not providing your personal information over the Internet or by email. But scam artists have become shrewd. Be careful replying to an email claiming to be from Social Security and asking for your Social Security number or personal information.
Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in America. If you think you have been the victim of an identity thief, you should contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft.
As spring break approaches, many students are preparing for a trip abroad. The State Department’s website for students traveling overseas provides useful safety and travel information for parents and students alike: studentsabroad.state.gov.
The majority of students will have safe and enjoyable adventures. However, even on the best-planned trips, things can go wrong. Each year more than 2,500 U.S. citizens are arrested abroad, nearly half of them on narcotics charges, including possession of very small amounts of illegal substances. U.S. citizens have been badly injured or killed in accidents, falls, and other mishaps. Many of these incidents have been linked to alcohol and drug use. Other spring break vacationers have been sexually assaulted or robbed because they found themselves in unfamiliar locales, incapable of protecting themselves because of drug or alcohol use, or because they were victims of a “date rape” drug.
The most common cause of death of U.S. citizens overseas, other than natural causes, is by motor vehicle accident. Students traveling abroad should be aware that standards of safety overseas are different from those in the United States.
We urge all U.S. citizens traveling, studying, or residing abroad to sign up online for our Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). STEP enrollment makes it possible for the State Department to contact the student traveler in the case of a family emergency in the United States or because of a crisis in a foreign country.
Please see the Department of Homeland Security’s web site www.getyouhome.gov for more information on the requirements for a passport, passport card, or other approved document to reenter the United States after travel abroad.
Enrollment allows you to record information about your upcoming trip abroad that the Department of State can use to assist you in case of an emergency. 
