Students of Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, go full throttle for the cause of road safety as they attempt to set a Guinness World Record ‘for the biggest ever gathering of people wearing helmets.’ “The present Guinness World Record for the biggest gathering of people wearing helmets stands at 1263. But that was for wearing yellow safety helmets worn on construction sites. We want to wear proper motorcycle helmets and break the record – all for the cause of road safety,” says Adil M. Faisal, one of the students of the Mechanical Engineering Department, which is organising ‘Full Throttle’, the college’s annual auto expo. Full Throttle is on March 21 and 22 at Kanakakkunnu Palace grounds, where the college’s annual techno-cultural fete, Aagneya, is also going on.
The record-breaking event is set for March 22, around 4 p.m., prior to a motorcycle stunt face-off between European Freestyle stunt champion Benjamin Baldini and Indian stunt champions Ghost Ryderz. “Considering the reputations of the stunt bikers, we are expecting a huge turnout for the event as it is and thought it would be great if we could set a World Record too and get the message of road safety out there. The stunt show is open to the public. We urge people to bring their helmets along, the more the merrier!” says Adil.
That’s not all. For the past 50 days leading up to the event the students have been conducting road safety awareness campaigns in the city, including two safety rides, inter-college and intra-college quizzes, mime shows, a Q&A session with Transport Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, and a poster design campaign, conducted in conjunction with schools in the city (they are attempting another World record by displaying the maximum number of poster drawn on and for road safety), and the likes. They also formed a ‘Road Safety Corps’ , a group of volunteers who spanned the city, helping people understand the need for observing road safety rules.
“The United Nations has declared this as the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety.’ In Kerala, especially the number of road accidents is increasing by the day and many of them could have been prevented. This New Year, for example, as many as six engineering students lost their lives due to negligence. If you follow the rules, you save lives!” adds Adil. It’s as simple as that.
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