Eighty percent of road accident fatalities involve people not wearing helmets—deaths that outnumber even COVID-19 casualties. Deputy Superintendent of Police Traffic B.N. Dave delivered this stark reality at last year’s District Conference. He then urged the Lions of District 3232-F2 to join hands with the Police Department to spread awareness about road safety.
“I was shocked and in disbelief,” recalls Girish Patel, who heard those words that day. “I immediately resolved to accept this challenge.” When his friend Paresh Patel became District Governor, Girish proposed to serve as District Chairman for Traffic Awareness. His journey to save lives had begun.
Working with local Lions Clubs and Police Departments, Girish organized traffic awareness seminars across five locations: Vapi, Navsari, Surat, Valsad and Ankleshwar. Each location brought unique opportunities for impact.
Valsad is known for its industrial activity, particularly in the chemicals, textiles, and paper and paper pulp sectors. There are thousands of large and medium scale industries in the area. The Superintendent of Police Dr. Karanraj Vaghela, IPS, addressed factory owners with a simple request: display “No Helmet, No Entry” boards at their premises. The response exceeded expectations.
“The safety of our workers is our utmost priority,” explains Dr. Sharad Tiwari, factory manager at Pidilite Industries. “We provided each worker with a helmet bearing our company logo, and made wearing them mandatory. Other industries followed suit. We are grateful to Lions for such a motivating campaign.”
The campaign took an encouraging turn when Lions, along with the Chief of Police and his staff, took to the streets to recognize ‘Helmet Heroes.’ They presented tricolor sashes and token gifts to approximately 600 people caught doing the right thing—wearing their helmets.
At Pardi, Lions organized a seminar for 650 school authorities from 350 schools, requesting they implement the “No Helmet, No Entry” mission and dedicate classroom time to traffic safety education. Most schools embraced the initiative.
With permission from the National Highway Authority and the Police Department, Vapi Platinum Lions Club contributed Rs.5 lakh to install 25 small and 15 large signboards displaying helmet awareness messages and traffic rules along National Highway 8.
“I am extremely satisfied that Girish has not limited the project only to his hometown, but reached out to all clubs in the district,” notes District Governor Paresh Patel. “It would be extremely satisfying to see Lions preventing these tragic road deaths.”
Commissioner of Police Surat Anupam Singh Gahlaut IPS appreciated the Lions’ efforts: “It is an honour for my department and Surat city that Lions reached out to different areas and helped us in our campaign to save lives. I assure my personal as well as my department’s participation and support for Lions in their campaign of saving lives from accidents.”
What began as shocking statistics in a conference hall has transformed into a district-wide movement where every helmet worn represents a life potentially saved—and every Lion involved carries forward the mission of turning awareness into action.
