The Helmet Man is saving lives on Indian roads

Every morning, Raghavendra Kumar gears up for his mission—distributing free helmets.

With a stock of helmets in his car, he navigates through different neighbourhoods in Greater Noida. The car’s rearview window carries a message emphasising the importance of wearing helmets.

Kumar has been working towards raising awareness for road safety. He distributes helmets to riders who aren't wearing one. Kumar, better known as the Helmet Man of India, has so far distributed 56,000 helmets in Kanpur, Lucknow, Delhi, Meerut, Noida and more.

A few months ago, Vikram Singh, a man from Indore who had received a helmet from Kumar, met with an accident. Singh fell off his bike and hit the divider, after which his helmet broke into two parts.

Singh says he is grateful to Kumar as he believes that the helmet saved his life.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), around 1.5 lakh people have lost their lives due to road accidents in 2021 alone.

Kumar founded his non-profit organisation, the Helmet Man of India Foundation in 2020. As part of this initiative, Kumar aims to establish a helmet bank operational from 6 am to 8 pm, all year round. He wishes to start a helmet store outside schools and colleges in Noida. This facility will offer free helmets to students who may forget to carry one from home. Those in need can borrow a helmet and return it within eight days or get it reissued. However, this plan is still in the pipeline.

Initially, Kumar used his savings to buy helmets. However, he now depends on the income from agricultural lands that he owns as well as donations.

To fund his mission, he even sold his flat in Noida in 2018.

“I am very grateful to my wife as she helped me in dire circumstances by giving her jewellery so we could raise money to keep the campaign alive,” he says.

"Road safety is often overlooked by many in India, but it is a critical issue. I suffered a personal loss due to a road accident and I don’t want other families to go through the same." he tells SocialStory.

Losing a friend

Kumar, who hails from a small village in Bihar, came to Delhi-NCR to pursue higher education. During his college days, Krishna Kumar, a resident of Madhubani, Bihar became his roommate.

While Krishna was pursuing a course in engineering, Kumar was studying to become a lawyer from Greater Noida’s Lloyd Law College.

“While studying I was also doing a part time job and whenever I came back Krishna used to make sure that I eat food. He used to take care of me like a brother. Getting family like friends away from home is truly a blessing,” Kumar says.

However, in 2014, when Krishna was returning to his home, he met with an accident on the Yamuna Expressway.

His family was devastated by the accident. “Losing a young child is an unimaginable loss. I could see the pain in their eyes and that was the day when I found my purpose in life,” Kumar says.

Starting in 2014, Kumar started distributing free helmets.

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Saving lives

In the beginning, Kumar worked voluntarily in his free time alongside his day job as a lawyer. Wherever he would go from Noida to Bihar, if he saw someone on the road without a helmet, he would give that person one for free. However, in 2016, Kumar quit his job to dedicate himself to promoting road safety.

“Earlier there was not much planning involved in the distribution process as I used to give helmets wherever I was. However slowly I have started distributing helmets in areas which are accident-prone or where more people are travelling without helmets,” he explains.

Recalling a particular incident, he recounts a visit to a store in Patna where he inquired about the quantity of helmets available. The shopkeeper informed him that there were two lakh helmets in stock. Surprising the shopkeeper, Kumar requested him to pack all of them.

“Initially, the shopkeeper thought it was a joke. But when I explained my mission, he understood the gravity of the situation and applauded my efforts as well,” he adds.

Kumar recalls that when he visited his friend’s home a few months after the accident, he saw some old 12th standard books lying in his house which were not being used. Kumar took them and donated those books to a boy who came from an underprivileged house in Patna.

“Couple of months later, the boy’s father called me and thanked me. His son had topped his intermediate examination,” he says.

Then, the idea struck Kumar to start collecting old books in exchange for free helmets. “I began asking the more educated and well-off people who I would see not wear helmets to donate old and used books,” he says continuing, “I encourage young children to donate books and take a helmet as this new generation has the potential to bring about a change. If they take helmets for free, their parents can use them.”

Kumar donates these books to libraries. Around 1,400 libraries have benefitted from this cause so far.

 “It is extremely important for the youth of this country to be literate to make the country safe in terms of road accidents and libraries can help achieve that endeavour,” he says.

The changemaker also spreads awareness about road safety through his Instagram page. He has been lauded for his efforts by many actors and politicians including–Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. For his work, he is also being conferred the Pride of Asia Award 2023.