08 August,2014 02:07 AM IST | | Anuj Ismail
In a bid to change how the youth perceive helmets, the Traffic department has enlisted the help of young riders for a special rally
bikes
Despite all efforts made by the Traffic department to encourage the use of helmets on the road, two-wheeler riders in the city continue to flout the safety norm unabashedly.
About 100 traffic cops and bikers will take the helmet rally to 10 colleges in the city. File pic
So, today, in a move that may help to drive their point home and, perhaps, even make helmets a tad cooler amongst young bikers, the Traffic police will join hands with the motorcycling group, Pune Bikers, in an awareness rally.
For the first time, more than 100 traffic constables and another 100 members of the Pune Bikers group will visit colleges in the city to interact with students and educate them about the need to wear helmets on the road.
Rajendra Joshi, assistant commissioner of police (traffic zone 1) said, "The total duration of the awareness drive will be two hours, and we will target the youth in popular colleges. It is essential to make youngsters understand the importance of using a helmet while riding a two-wheeler."
"In order to ensure that the drive is effective, we have joined hands with the bikers, who are young and can spread the message more effectively. As they are professional riders, they can speak about how a helmet can actually save lives in accidents," he added.
The rally will be flagged off at 10 am by Police Commissioner Satish Mathur from his office. The rally will be divided into 10 groups, each with 10 Pune Bikers' members and 10 traffic constables on their motorcycles. Each of them will also have pillion riders carrying posters and banners for helmet awareness. All the participants, including the pillion riders will wear helmets during the drive.
Sangram Devkar, president of the Pune Bikers group, said, "We will be visiting 10 colleges in the city to try to reach the maximum number of people. We are planning to upload videos that show real instances in which a person was saved because he was wearing a helmet. We will upload the videos via social media like Facebook and Twitter, as well as messaging applications like WhatsApp."
"Helmets act like cushions during accidents. More than 98 per cent of the time, a helmet saves the rider from any kind of head injury. The youth should realise the importance of wearing helmets, and not see it as a burden on their head," added Devkar.
