The Helmet Campaign

Fellow blogger Shahid Mukadam and I had a conversation on facebook recently on some nuances of blogging when he ventured to tell me of a tag he was creating! Not a fan of tags, I told him of how minimal tags should be part of ones blogs as they often do not elicit a good response, besides deter the reader from taking good note of the content, or so I believe! But, minutes later, when he told me the subject of his tag, I gave it a serious thought, enough to create a post out of it!


With over 1.3 lakh road accidents India tops the world accidents list! Here are some ominous facts pertinent to two-wheeler accidents in India:

Head injury due to two-wheeler accidents is the sixth leading cause of death in India (one death every 4 minutes).

120,000 head injury deaths occur annually in India, from two-wheeler accidents alone.

5 to 10 million of the population have had head injuries.

70% of head injuries are preventable, and occur due to negligence and ignorance.

Statistics never reflect the agony and misery faced by the individual family when the breadwinner is critically injured or dies.

Studies have shown that when helmet use is voluntary, it is used by 40-50 %; when compulsory, it is almost 100 %. Only 8% really have objection to using helmets - others don't use it because it is "not compulsory."

Two-wheeler riders are five times more likely to be killed in an accident than car or bus passengers. This probability goes up by 100% if one is not wearing a helmet.

Rs. 2,500 crore (1% of Indian GDP) is the annual loss due to road accidents.

So, any of that is enough reason to wear a helmet, if you are riding a two-wheeler! Nothing precedes the importance and value of your life!

And to lighten the tension, me being a non-rider, will rather wear one to prevent the thundering blows of my wifey! So much for the poor, meek husband! :)

Footnotes:

Road Accidents in India - A database

Image Courtesy - Asia Injury Prevention Foundation