The Hindu : Wear a helmet, secure your life

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 26, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

Wear a helmet, secure your life

By K. Satyamurty

Bangalore May 25. Here is a young man actively campaigning for protective helmets to be made mandatory for two-wheeler riders even as the City traffic police are planning how to do it.

Anish Verghese Koshy (27), an IT professional, knows what he is campaigning for. On March 3, the motorcycle he was riding on near Queen's Road skidded and he fell down, fracturing his left arm. "Even as I was calling for help on my mobile phone, a passing motorist stopped and helped me get admitted to HOSMAT where I had to undergo emergency surgery," he told The Hindu.

Orthopaedic surgeons at HOSMAT, which specialises in trauma care and orthopaedics, worked hard on his arm which had multiple fractures with one of the bones jutting out from the muscles. Stainless steel plates and screws were used to set the fracture and his arm is still in a cast. "But for a helmet I would not be talking to you now," he said.

There were sad memories of two close friends who were killed in road accidents because they did not wear helmets, and, all those accident statistics about the increasing number of young two-wheeler riders succumbing to head injuries in accidents. All these made the young IT professional do some hard thinking.

What emerged was "Campaigns Online" with the web address: www.geocities.com/acampaigner. "The programme is an online, public interest campaign site that leverages the power of the Net to create awareness, increase interaction, and initiate change'' Mr. Koshy said. The site offers reliable, relevant information and global resources apart a unique free downloadable Communi-Kit. This kit contains designs of posters, stickers, logos, wallpapers, SMS text, survey documents, e-mailers and instructions.

Users have the option of downloading the required material and running their own independent campaigns. Alterations to the kit are not allowed without approval. Corporate communications and human resource managers can run this campaign in their company's Intranet to reach the message to employees. Campaign success can be measured by conducting pre and post- programme surveys, Mr. Koshy suggested.

The current campaign running on the website has the catchy logo: Keep Your Head. Wear A Helmet. There are posters/graphics like the one shown here which have been designed with the help of an advertising professional friend.

Since the aim is to make a high percentage of two-wheeler riders wear helmets and to improve other road safety measures, Mr. Koshy has sought the help of experts as resource persons. Help has come from different quarters. Gururaj of NIMHANS has volunteered information. An Indian doctor, now in Malaysia, an alumnus of CMC, Vellore, has not only provided information inputs but also donated 100 helmets.

Mr. Koshy plans to meet the City Police Commissioner, H.T.Sangliana, to press the need for making wearing of helmets mandatory for two-wheeler riders. And, to take the safety campaign to more citizens.

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Wear a helmet, secure your life