In a push to reduce road traffic deaths globally, Jean Todt – United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Road Safety, has partnered with the road safety advocate, Rajeev Kapur, Managing Director, Steelbird Helmets and President – Two-Wheeler Helmet Manufacturers Association in India on an initiative called Helmets for Hope.
Under Jean Todt’s leadership, the FIA launched several campaigns to promote the use of helmets, especially among motorcyclists and cyclists. These campaigns were part of broader efforts to improve road safety and reduce fatalities.
The #3500LIVES campaign, which Todt spearheaded, included promoting helmet use as a crucial measure to prevent injuries and save lives. The campaign, featuring prominent ambassadors, spread awareness about the importance of wearing helmets and adhering to road safety practices.
The United Nations Global Campaign for Road Safety, initiated by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, in collaboration with JCDecaux and with the support of Saatchi & Saatchi, aimed at promoting road safety worldwide under the motto “Make a Safety Statement.” Over two years, the campaign is set to reach over 80 countries and 1,000 cities, utilizing various mediums, including billboards, transportation modes, media, and social media.
Fourteen global and many national celebrities have joined forces to advocate for simple and effective road safety rules in the six official UN languages. The messages the celebrities focus on mitigating the risk factors on the road, including the importance of wearing a helmet and responding to UN regulations.
As per Todt “Road crashes are sadly the #1 killer of the young people. A country where road ravages affect entire families and for which I fully support efforts to stop the number of victims on the roads.”
The comprehensive program aims to standardize and mandate the use of certified ventilated helmets for all two-wheeler riders across the globe through a multi-pronged approach involving lawmaking, awareness campaigns, manufacturing incentives, and private-sector participation.
At the heart of Helmets for Hope is a proposal developed by Rajeev Kapur, with the objective of saving millions of lives across the world. Kapur has submitted a comprehensive proposal to the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety outlining crucial steps to dramatically reduce road fatalities worldwide through increased helmet usage.
After months of development, the extensive proposal provides a blueprint for governments and industries to promote standardized helmet manufacturing, distribution, and enforcement.
A central tenet is mandating and enforcing laws that require two-wheeler manufacturers to supply a minimum of two standardized, compliant helmets with every vehicle sold – one each for the driver and pillion rider.
India’s 2005 Central Motor Vehicles Rule, which established this requirement, should be replicated across all developing nations.
To make certified helmets more accessible and affordable, the proposal calls for reducing taxes and duties. In India, it recommends lowering the 18% GST on helmets to just 5-12%. For countries without local production facilities, it advocates eliminating import duties and local taxes on helmets altogether.
Ensuring only genuine, high-quality helmets reach consumers is another critical focus area. The proposal details establishing independent testing laboratories in collaboration with NGOs to authenticate helmet standards and eliminate non-compliant, substandard, and counterfeit products from the market. Alarmingly, over 50% of helmets currently used by two-wheeler riders globally do not meet safety standards.
Facilitating private sector participation through incentives like mandating corporations allocate a portion of corporate social responsibility funds towards providing quality helmets and promoting road safety awareness is also recommended. Replicating successful initiatives like India’s mandatory corporate social responsibility laws globally could unlock significant funding for helmet provision programs.
The proposal emphasizes ensuring large two-wheeler delivery fleets like Amazon, Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato, Delhivery and others procure and provide standardized helmets to all their drivers and riders who currently often use substandard headgear.
Reducing regulatory hurdles, lowering manufacturing costs, and eliminating import taxes on equipment and raw materials could further enable helmet manufacturers to ramp up capabilities and build sufficient standardized helmet production infrastructure globally.
“Compelling evidence highlights the importance of raising awareness about the critical role of proper helmet usage in preventing road traffic injuries. The World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023 states that high-quality helmets can reduce the risk of death by over six times and mitigate the risk of brain injury by up to 74%. Despite these startling figures, head injuries continue to be the leading cause of death in motorcycle accidents,” stated Kapur.
He further added, “Shockingly, only 54 out of 147 countries have laws on helmet use that align with international best practices. Moreover, globally, as many as 47% of motorcyclists admit to not using helmets correctly. It is in light of these alarming statistics that I have proposed a comprehensive roadmap to the United Nations to save millions of lives through mandating standardized helmet usage worldwide.”
The United Nations has welcomed the proposal and is working closely with Kapur and his team to evaluate implementation across member nations. Widespread adoption of the recommendations could potentially save billions of lives over the coming decades.
