Bengaluru: World Head Injury Day tomorrow; hospital, cops distribute free helmets

Bengaluru: On the occasion of World Head Injury Day on March 20, Fortis Bengaluru organised a helmet donation drive to city motorists to promote the use of helmets.

Organised in association with the Bengaluru Traffic Police, the three-day drive started on Friday and will end on Monday. The drive will be conducted at various traffic signals of Jayanagar 4th Block, Nayandahalli, J.P. Nagar, Gopalan Mall, Inner Ring Road, Outer Ring Road and Rajajinagar.

The drive at the Cunningham Road signal on Saturday saw traffic policemen giving away free helmets along with pink slips for violations to people seen riding without helmets.

Dr Manish Mattoo, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospital, said, “The people somehow tend to ignore basic safety tools like a helmet. They will suffer serious head injuries in case of an accident. Through this initiative, we want to alert people on road safety and that a lot of cases of head injuries due to accidents can be avoided with this simple aid.”

According to the World Health Organisation, Karnataka has about 42 million registered vehicles, of which Bengaluru alone has 2 million. 75 percent of these vehicles are two-wheelers. Injuries to the head and neck are the main cause of death, the survey revealed.