Ahmedabad: Talk about wearing helmets to Atul Agarwal, a city-based engineer, and he quickly dismantles the excuses. “Many say they are travelling only a few kilometres. Others believe they are safe because they are avoiding highways and sticking to bylanes. But accidents don’t weigh distances or routes. In a matter of minutes, a promising life can be cut short,” he says.Agarwal speaks from a place of profound personal loss. His son Vaibhav, then 19, died in Sept 2014 after a collision with a private bus near Prahladnagar. “He was wearing a helmet, as always. But he could not be saved. He died on the spot,” says the father, the pain undimmed even after 12 years.For Agarwal, every road fatality statistic represents a family whose life has been irrevocably altered. The accident not only took away his son but also changed the course of his own life. “I left my thriving business because there was nobody to inherit it. Later, I worked with my brother and then took up employment elsewhere. The loss is irreparable and will stay with me till my last breath,” he says.That grief eventually found purpose. Through the Jagriti Foundation and in association with Ahmedabad Traffic Consultative Committee (ATCC), Agarwal now works to promote road safety awareness and distribute helmets, hoping fewer families will have to endure what his did. For him, every rider persuaded to wear a helmet is a reminder that behind every accident prevented lies a future preserved.
