In this month’s edition, Brian’ column focuses on the importance of the helmet! In many parts of the world, motorcycle use has rapidly increased yet protective measures have not gone hand in hand. Brian explains the importance of helmet usage on two wheels and explores some myths behind its none-use.

At the corner of what has been, without a doubt, the month-of-being-broke:-thanks to the over-flashing-of-money during the festive season, coupled with the New Year excitement, lies arguably the most awaited month of the year! Ladies and gentlemen, to be precise, It’s February! Hurray! For our amazing young superstars, school is calling! Colleges and Universities gotta open officially…so, dear parents, go to your banks and start depositing our tuition already. For those who are working, don’t worry, February is gonna be a great month, its short, you know what I mean (wink) Back to us, it’s SAFETY all the way…this time, on the HELMET!

While Daft Punk have made the helmet cooler than cool, proper usage of the helmet on two wheels and helmets which are up to safety standards continue to save lives in a road traffic collision.

Along with a global (Africa to be exact) increase in motorization, particularly in low-income and middle income countries, the use of motorized two-wheelers and bicycles is growing rapidly in many places and they come along with a number of names, don’t they?:- Boda Boda in Eastern Africa, Okada in Nigeria, Dewar in Cameroon, Boney (slang in South Africa). As a result, there are increasing fatalities and injuries among users of two-wheelers, with head injuries being a major concern and most common cause of death.

Motorcycle and bicycle helmets are effective both in preventing head injuries and in reducing the severity of injuries sustained by riders and passengers of two-wheelers. Unfortunately, in many countries the use of helmets is low. Many young people around the world die in motorcycle collisions: In Uganda, 61 people are involved in Road Traffic Crash everyday, with stats from Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroon and Zimbabwe jaw dropping! If you aint from these countries, don’t consider yourself aloof of the hand of a Road Traffic Crash as a lot of crashes remain unreported!

Wait, you must have been told or heard or even experienced all the excuses for not having or using a helmet! “It’s just a hat! It’s uncomfortable! It’s bloody hot! I can’t see well with it! Its dirty man! It smells like…” Mention it…
The fact is: A helmet protects your head: Helmet use is effective at reducing head injuries: Helmet programmes are effective at getting helmets on heads: Needless to say, head injuries will come along with complications like brain damage, nervous system break down, and o fcourse then, you won’t be able to play your favorite sport, go to the movies, help your parents at home as you’d’ve wanted! Plus, it’s bloody expensive to be treated let alone, the economic, social burden that comes along with that.

Without really, taking you deep into the science of going to planet mars:

First things first: Your skull and my skull is made up of a variety of minerals but mainly calcium, an element which makes the skull-the hardest bone on a human body! But, wait, calcium isn’t anywhere as close to being hard as Diamond or Gold! Upon pressure, calcium will break, while Diamond and Gold may twist to absorb the pressure! Ok, so during a motorcycle or bicycle crash there are two principal mechanisms of injury to the brain: through direct contact and through acceleration–deceleration. Each mechanism causes different types of injuries. 

If the rider’s head hits an object, such as the ground, the head’s forward motion is stopped, but the brain, having its own mass, continues to move forward until it strikes the inside of the skull. It then rebounds, striking the opposite side of the skull. This type of injury can result in anything from a minor head injury, such as concussion, to a fatal head injury.

Head injuries that result from either contact or acceleration–deceleration injuries are themselves divided into two categories: open or closed head injuries. Most traumatic brain injuries are the result of closed head injuries – that is, there is no open wound to the brain.

So, how does the helmet help…lets go to the point straight away, shall we?

1. It reduces the deceleration of the skull, and hence the brain movement, by managing the impact. The soft material incorporated in the helmet absorbs some of the impact and therefore the head comes to a halt more slowly. This means that the brain does not hit the skull with such great force.
2. It spreads the forces of the impact over a greater surface area so that they are not concentrated on particular areas of the skull.
3. It prevents direct contact between the skull and the impacting object by acting as a mechanical barrier between the head and the object

What makes a helmet a helmet, huh?
Please see the photos below for your judgement 😉

Does having 2 kgs of good looking hair on my head good enough? How about wearing a turban? Do I really need this retention system or face shield on my helmet? Is it worth having a helmet of your own?-It costs around 10-20USD. Did I mention that February comes along with #ValentinesDay? Well, make sure you are on the safe side of the game! And for those (like me hahaha) who aint got any #Valentine business…just #STAYSAFE ☺

Every so often, YOURS features an organization within its network that is carrying our exceptional work. Youth for Public Transport (Y4PT) are an organization promoting sustainable transport in natural and urban environments. We feature their work here.

The purpose of Y4PT is:

• To act collectively with the youth of the world to educate, disseminate,innovate and improve the urban world through the development of public transport, sustainable mobility and related issues (environmental and sustainable  issues, architecture, urban spaces, and social cohesion matters).
• To protect the planet, natural and urban environments, to promote youth awareness on sustainability, to protect young people through better education and healthy living conditions, to reduce social and intercultural differences in the world.
• To promote equity and solidarity.
• To support intercultural understanding and active citizenship.

Y4PT is acting through the following activity:

• Advocacy through the management of our website and Social Media.
• Youth participation in active politics and innovation through the development of Y4PT Parliaments and Laboratories at national and international level.
• Writing papers and articles in the media.
• Creation of innovative projects in the field of Transport, Environment,Social.
• Creation of national and international events
• Participation in forums, conferences, congresses, seminars.
• Contacts and partnership with national and international organizations, Institutions, Governments. 

Y4PT was thought up and is directed by Ms. ALESSANDRA GORINI. The Y4PT WORK TEAM supports her to get ahead the Organization and it is integrated by young people from all over the world, from different careers and age range who they are committed since the beginning.

YOURS and Y4PT Collaboration
YOURS will be joining Youth for Public Transport at the Y4PT Youth Meeting at UITP MENA Congress & Exhibition. Taking place in the United Arab Emirates this year. Read more about Y4PT in the MINE Secion.

YOURS was recently involved in a project to assist the World Health Organization in identifying public service announcements (PSAs) for road safety. The finished result is a searchable online database of effective road safety PSAs from around the world illustrating impactful road safety campaigns.

Worldwide more than 1.2 million people die as a result of a road traffic crash each year, and as many as 50 million more are injured. Most of these tragedies can be prevented through improvements in roads, vehicles, and people’s behaviour in terms of avoiding speeding, drinking and driving, and distracted driving and using motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints. In terms of people’s behaviour, such actions can be promoted through the development of comprehensive road safety legislation and the rigorous enforcement thereof.

To increase public awareness of road safety laws and to persuade the public to abide by them, national and local governments complement legislation and enforcement with the broadcasting of mass media campaigns through television and radio. The most powerful of these campaigns highlight what happens when people fail to abide by the law and the resulting consequences in terms of death, injury and disability as well as fines and imprisonment.

This online library of road safety video and audio campaigns – which will continue to expand in the years ahead – was produced to inspire governments and other agencies wishing to develop their own mass media campaigns. It provides some of the best campaigns from around the world, showcasing possible concepts in order to save time and expense for those wishing to develop such campaigns.

The campaigns included are among those which have been evaluated to be effective or are otherwise of a high-quality production standard with clear and targeted messages promoting the good practices in road safety identified by WHO and partners worldwide. Each campaign is presented with a one-page description highlighting details about the campaign and providing contact information and links to related materials.