Rallying for road safety and security
Road safety is an issue that affects all of us. That is what the ongoing initiative – Be a Road Hero —launched by Hero Motocorp and Hindustan Times, is all about.
The focus of the second phase of the campaign has been to create awareness among road users, especially two-wheeler riders, to never go out without a helmet.
The final round of a helmet design hackathon on road safety was conducted by the Indian Road Safety Campaign (IRSC) at IIT-Delhi.
The objective of this twophase hackathon was to invite students from some of India’s premier technical colleges to develop implementable solutions for reducing the frequency and impact of road accidents in India. Over 300 teams and 78 colleges participated in the campaign.
The first prize was bagged by Akash Pandey and Rajesh Kumar Prajapati of the Maharaja Agrasen Institute Of Technology, who created a unique light-weight, sturdy helmet of reusable plastic, which meets the highest standards of safety.
The winners were selected by a jury comprising Dr S
Rajesh, director, Niti Aayog, along with SK Mishra, Road Safety Enforcement, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), L Kuttiraja, deputy director, MoRTH and Shipra Gupta, a United Nations Youth Volunteer.
Rajesh Mukhija, the spokesperson of Hero Motocorp said, “Its objective has been to sensitise every citizen on the need to follow traffic rules and work towards making our roads safer. Together with Delhi Police, we shall continue our plans throughout the year with programmes in educational institutions and road-safety cells of IRSC.”
Fever 104 FM radio station and websites such as herowecare.hindustantimes. com also urge people to use helmets, wear seat belts, help accident victims and follow traffic rules.
The campaign has garnered a great response with hundreds getting inspired to get on board for the cause of road safety. So far, more than 1, 20,000 Delhiites have taken a pledge to become road heroes and help make the Capital’s roads safer for everyone.