TAXILA, May 8: German stunt motorcyclist Steven Hofmann on Wednesday started his journey from Islamabad to the Northern areas via G.T Road to create awareness in road safety among motorcyclists, especially the use of crash helmets.

The awareness drive, launched from Taxila toll plaza, was organised by the National Highway and Motorway Police (NH&MP), and crash helmets were distributed among students who were also informed of the importance of helmets.

Mr Hoffman said his mission in visiting Pakistan was to educate motorcyclists, especially youth, of the importance of crash helmets.

He termed Pakistan the land of peace and hospitality, and rejected the picture depicted by the western media about Pakistan. He said he found Pakistanis were loving, dynamic and friendly people, adding that his travel to this country would be unforgettable.

Mr Hoffman said he would tell his native people about Pakistan and dispel the notion which the western media had negatively showcased.

He said he had been traveling on his bike for the past three months and had traveled more than 60,000km before entering Pakistan via Nepal, Bhutan and India.

He said he would travel on the G.T. Road and then on the Karakoram Highway up to the Khunjrab Pass to create awareness.

Responding a question, he said many countries were facing a rapid rise in the number of people injured or killed while riding motorcycles and the major proportion of these resulted from injuries to the head.

Helmets were effective in reducing the likelihood of head injuries, he added.

Mr Hoffman added that he had become a great admirer of the Pakistani truck art and would decorate his bike which he would take back to Germany.

Mr Hofmann also gave lectures on road safety to youth at COMSATS institute of Information technology (CIIT) at Wah, and to the cadets at Cadet College Hassanabdal.

He asked the students to be ambassadors propagating the call for careful driving and safe travel, especially on motorbikes.

Citing his personal experiences, he said he was hit by a vehicle but survived because of the helmet.

Sector Commander North 1, SSP Farooq Azam, speaking on this occasion said the NH&MP had joined hands with the German biker to create traffic rules awareness.

“At least 25 per cent of the total number of accidents involves motorcyclists riding without helmets and showing off by performing stunts.

The general public can be briefed of the dire consequences of this with the help of illustrations and documentaries,” he said.

Mr Azam said a report, published by the WHO, estimated that 1.2m people were killed and 50million were injured in traffic collisions on roads every year throughout the world.

The report also noted that the problem was severe in developing countries and simple prevention measures could halve the number of deaths.

“The ratio of accidents is alarming in Pakistan mainly due to violation of road safety laws.” He said the NH&MP had introduced a distinct policing culture in Pakistan, which was acclaimed by all road users and the government.

Beat Commander DSP Mohammad Iqbal Malik said creating road safety awareness among the youth was the need of the time.

The NH&MP had organised traffic awareness seminars at two different educational institutions of the area, and was fighting to reduce accidents by maintaining better discipline on roads.