Vega turns helmet apathy into a national wake-up call

PUNE: India’s leading road-safety brand has decided shock works better than sermons. Vega Auto has launched a blunt new nationwide campaign that takes aim at one of the country’s deadliest everyday hypocrisies: the helmet worn on the arm, not on the head.

Titled “Pehnoge toh bachoge”, the initiative reframes helmet usage as a life-and-death choice rather than a fine-avoidance trick. The message is simple, and unforgiving: owning a helmet means nothing if it is not worn.

The trigger is grim arithmetic. India clocks more than 4,00,000 road deaths a year. Over 55,000 of them are two-wheeler riders who had helmets close at hand—but not where they mattered. Vega’s campaign film, set amid the familiarity of Mumbai traffic, turns that statistic into a visceral moment. Fathers, students and office-goers treat helmets as accessories, until a sudden crash cuts the noise. Silence follows. A helmet spins in mid-air. The line lands hard: wearing a helmet saves lives; carrying one does not.

Dilip Chandak, chairman of Vega Auto, says the company’s responsibility does not end at the point of sale. Millions of helmets already sit in Indian homes, he notes. The failure is not supply, but behaviour. The campaign is designed to shift riders from compliance to conviction—from dodging challans to choosing survival.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Belgaum, Vega has built its dominance on affordable, everyday helmets, producing around 10 million units annually. Its portfolio now spans mass-market Vega and premium Axor, alongside riding gear and accessories. But scale, the company suggests, brings obligation.

The campaign rolls out nationally with the hashtag #WearItDontCarryIt, calling on riders, influencers and policymakers to amplify the message. The ambition is cultural, not cosmetic.

India does not need more helmets, Vega argues. It needs fewer excuses.