Helmets for Hope: Accelerating Road Safety at a Global Scale in 2024

June 13, 2024 0 By The Editor

Helmets for Hope –

In a major push to dramatically reduce road traffic deaths globally, Mr. Jean Todt – United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Road Safety has partnered with the road safety advocate, Mr. Rajeev Kapur, Managing Director Steelbird Helmets and President – Two-Wheeler Helmet Manufacturers Association in India on an ambitious new initiative – Helmets for Hope.

Over the next two years (2023-2025), 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 dozens of 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 responding to UN regulations.

Helmets for Hope – FIA Helmet Safety Campaigns

Under Mr. Jean Todt’s leadership (2009-2021), the FIA launched several campaigns aimed at promoting the use of helmets, especially among motorcyclists and cyclists. These campaigns were part of broader efforts to improve road safety and reduce fatalities.

Helmets for Hope – 3500LIVES Campaign (2017-2021)

The #3500LIVES campaign, which Mr. Jean 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.

Helmets for Hope – UN-JCDecaux campaign #MakeAsafetyStatement (2023-2025)

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.”

Helmets for Hope – Partnerships with NGOs, Corporates and Local Organizations

Mr. Jean Todt has worked closely with various non-governmental organizations, corporates and local bodies to distribute helmets and educate communities on their importance. These partnerships often involve:

Helmet Donations: Distributing helmets to motorcyclists and cyclists in regions with high rates of road accidents. Due to the efforts of Mr. Jean Todt, more than 1,00,000 helmets were distributed under the CSR activity in more than 40 countries which included Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam amongst others.
Awareness Programs: Conducting workshops and campaigns to educate the public on the life-saving benefits of helmet use.

Helmets for Hope – Visits to Asian and African Countries

Jean Todt has made visits to several Asian and African countries to promote road safety initiatives, including helmet safety. These visits are aimed at raising awareness, garnering political support, and implementing concrete measures to improve road safety. Some notable visits include countries like Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Cambodia, Ethopia, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Vietnam, Zimbabwe etc. for collaboration with the Government to strengthen road safety regulations and enforcement. His efforts also included Engaging with local communities, private sector and NGOs to raise awareness about the importance of wearing helmets and launching campaigns to promote helmet use and other road safety measures.

Helmets for Hope – Supporting Research and Development

Mr. Jean Todt has supported research into helmet safety, compliant with ECE 22.05 United Nations minimum safety standards for helmets and the development of affordable, high-quality helmets for use in low-income regions. This includes promoting the adoption of UNECE safety standards for helmets and ensuring that that helmets are affordable and accessible to those who need them most.

Helmets for Hope – Collaboration with International Organizations

As the UN Special Envoy for Road Safety, Mr. Jean Todt collaborates with various international organizations to promote helmet safety. This includes working with:

World Health Organization (WHO): Partnering on initiatives to improve road safety and promote helmet use.
Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF): Supporting projects that include helmet distribution and road safety education.

Helmets for Hope – Public Advocacy and Media Engagement

Mr. Jean Todt uses his platform to advocate for helmet safety through media engagements and public appearances. His advocacy includes:

Interviews and Articles: Highlighting the importance of helmet responding to UN road safety regulation, use in media interviews and articles.
Social Media Campaigns: Utilizing social media to spread awareness about helmet safety and road safety measures.

Through these comprehensive efforts, Mr. Jean Todt has made significant contributions to improving helmet safety, particularly in African countries. His initiatives aim to reduce fatalities and injuries by promoting the consistent use of helmets and enhancing road safety awareness and regulations.

As per Mr. Jean 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.

Helmets for Hope – The Indian Connection

At the heart of Helmets for Hope is a proposal developed by Mr. Rajeev Kapur, President of the Two Wheeler Helmet Manufacturers Association and Managing Director of Steelbird Helmets with an objective to save millions of life across the world:

Mr. Rajeev 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.

Helmets for Hope – Private Sector participation

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.

Helmets for Hope – Delivery partners

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 Mr. Kapur.

Helmets for Hope – Helmet usage worldwide

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 Mr. 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.

Helmets for Hope – United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety

About Jean Todt – International Peace Institute Directors Board’s Chair

Jean Todt was born in 1946 in Pierrefort, France. He is married to Michelle Yeoh and has one son, Nicolas. He studied economics, business and marketing at the Ecole des Cadres in Paris. Mr. Todt is the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety since April 2015 and the International Peace Institute Directors Board’s Chair since 2023.

He is also a Member of the FIFA Foundation Board since 2023.Furthermore, Mr. Todt is the International Olympic Committee President’s Advisor on Safety and Mobility and the Chairman of the Suu Foundation Board.

Jean Todt – Automotive Racing

He started his career in 1966 as a rally co-driver and participated in the World Rally Championship until 1981. He won the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers with Talbot Lotus in 1981. Between 1981 and 1990, he was Director of Racing and Founder of Peugeot Talbot Sport. Between 1990 and 1993, he was Director of Sporting Activities of PSA Peugeot Citroën. Between 1993 and 2006, he was Team Principal of Formula 1, Ferrari. Between 2006 and 2009, he was Chief Executive Officer of Ferrari. Mr. Todt is the former President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) (2009-2021).

Jean Todt – Beyond Automotive Racing

He also devotes his time to several charitable causes. He is one of the Founders and Vice-President of the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (ICM), an institute focused on medical research for brain and spinal cord disorders. Mr. Todt was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year Award by the United Nations Association of New York in 2016 and the Lifetime Achievement for Contribution to Road Safety by the European Commission in 2022. Since 2021, Mr. Todt is Colonel in the citizen’s reserve of the French Gendarmerie Nationale. Mr. Todt received the prestigious Republic of France Légion d’honneur’s Grand Croix in 2011.