I have been working on this trip for six months. I have received a good response on Instagram. My target is to meet 10,000 commuters, says Vinay Maurya
Inspired by a video of Sachin Tendulkar asking riders to wear a helmet, Mumbai-based rider Vinay Maurya has, since then, travelled nearly 2,500 kilometres on his bike across the state and Gujarat requesting people who ride without helmets to do so. Armed with data on bike deaths and stickers, the Marine Lines resident has been spreading road safety awareness. "Sachin Tendulkar has inspired me to work towards spreading awareness of wearing helmets. I have been riding solo across India to talk to people about this issue," said Vinay Maurya.
Sachin Tendulkar had recently uploaded a video where he was seen creating awareness about traffic safety by insisting that people wear helmets. Maurya decided to take this issue to the next level by starting an Instagram campaign #HelmetDaalo, riding solo across India. "I am known as The Indian Motorcyclist on social media. Last week, I successfully completed the pilot leg of a trip by riding 2,500 km in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 5 days," he said.
Quoting data from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, he says data reveals that over 400 people die every day and an average of 17 people lose their lives in road accidents every hour.
Quoting data from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, he says data reveals that over 400 people die every day and an average of 17 people lose their lives in road accidents every hour.
Maurya has designed stickers which commuters can stick on a helmet, and take a pledge to never ride without a helmet. His Pan-India trip started from Mumbai and will cover Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal, Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha and south India in 45 days.
"I have been working on this trip for over six months and after receiving a good response from people on Instagram, I am ready to kick off the campaign. My target is to meet around 10,000 daily commuters and welcome support from various motorcycling clubs in India to spread the message in their cities," he added.
- Over half of Indian two-wheeler riders (57%) admit to not wearing a helmet when on the road, while an even higher proportion of pillion riders (74%) neglect to wear one whilst riding pillion. The survey was published by Exide Life Insurance as a part of its CSR initiative. According to the survey, riders are basing their decision to ride helmetless for a variety of reasons; Staggeringly, nearly a third (29%) admit to riding without a helmet for reasons of 'comfort'! 13% due to the cost of a helmet, 16% believe that they are not required to by the law, 22% simply ride bare-headed due to a force of habit.
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