Gujarat: Wear helmets while driving, doctors appeal

Government doctors who are now studying at the Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, celebrated World Health Day on Saturday on a different note. They conducted a Road Safety Awareness campaign at Pakwan crossroads on the first-half of the day.

The commuters at the crossroad were seen staring at banners instead of beggars or vendors. There were unique banner messages every time traffic stopped at the junction. The doctors showed placards and banners with the messages related to road safety.

“We are campaigning to increase awareness related to wearing helmets, putting on seat belts, not speeding, not using mobile phones while driving etc,” said Dr Sanket Patel, one of the campaigners. “We had also been appreciating people with small momentum who were seen wearing helmets, seat belts and those who were not using mobile phones while driving. The number of road accidents is increasing and it’s a must to wear the safety gears while driving, if not for self but for the family,” added Dr Patel.

While convincing people those who were not wearing helmets, the group stated many reasons, including lethargic attitude. 

Appreciating their efforts, Neerja Gotru, ACP traffic, said, “Their effort is to spread traffic safety awareness through positive messages. The doctors and the traffic police have taken up this initiative on one of the heaviest junctions which is prone to accidents. The effort is good.”