Be a road hero for your family’s sake

Hero MotoCorp’s ‘Hero We Care initiative’ creates awareness about the need to wear a helmet when riding a two-wheeler, ensuring that seat belts are fastened when in a car, and the need to help road accident victims.

Why is it that despite clear guidelines laid out by the traffic police to ensure safety on city roads, many drivers choose to ignore them? This was the question cops wanted to ask 18-year-old Ronak who succumbed to his injuries after his bike was hit by a car. Many accident victims could similarly have been saved, had they followed basic road safety guidelines.

While patrolling teams of the traffic police may be doing their job, commuters need to do their bit to ensure that safety initiatives are taken by them at all times, too. This is what has prompted Hero MotoCorp to create the Hero We Care initiative that will help create awareness about the need to not just wear a helmet when on a two-wheeler, but also about keeping seatbelts fastened while driving a car.

“A big change on Indian roads can be seen by observing three golden rules of road safety — wearing helmets, wearing seatbelts and helping road accident victims. Through the Hero We Care campaign, we urge people to take the pledge of observing the golden rules and be a road hero,” says Vijay Sethi, CIO, Head CSR and CHRO, Hero MotoCorp Ltd.

This CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative will also work to help citizens realise that timely help given to accident victims can save a life. What’s more – it will go a step further and ask people to become a Road Hero by taking a pledge to do all they can to save victims of a road accident.

Yes, heroes are the need of the hour, especially in Delhi-NCR, where the roads have been officially declared as the most dangerous. According to a survey, (Road Accidents in India 2016 by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways), out of a total of 52,500 two-wheeler riders killed in road accidents during the year 2016, 10,135 (19.3%) were reported to not have worn helmets. Not wearing seat belts also resulted in 5,638 deaths. The number of fatal accidents, in which at least one victim dies, has increased consistently since 2005 and seen a sharp rise from 1,31,726 in 2015 to 1,36,071 in 2016. Consequently, accident severity expressed in terms of number of persons killed per 100 accidents, went up from 29.1 in 2015 to 31.4 in 2016.

“These numbers can be brought down if people just follow the essential rules of safety,” says Tanushree Jana, a 27-year-old working with a hospitality firm. “Many youngsters have a false sense of bravado, which can become their undoing.” she adds. Having lost a friend in a highway crash recently, Nandini Sharma says she has seen how parents are left devastated.

“Youngsters must think of their families when out on the roads. How much time does it take to wear a helmet or put on a seat belt? But the problem is that most people think they are infallible and such things happen only to others,” adds the MNC executive. With the UN hoping to reduce road accidents by at least more than 50% by the year 2020, things need to be put into practice as all member countries, including India, are also committed to this mission.

This is where the youth comes in. With the right vision, they can bring about a change in people’s attitudes. A start can be made just by getting everyone they know to take a pledge — not to shirk wearing a helmet or a seat belt. So, let us all pledge and become a Road Hero.

To become a Road Hero, SMS Hero Your Name to 8866001830 or pledge online at herowecare.hindustantimes.com.