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May the helmet be with you

Dagmar BreitenbachMay 7, 2015

Is Darth Vader a good role model? He's the poster boy for a new campaign aimed at getting Germans to wear their bicycle helmets. After all, he (almost) never took off his helmet.

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Darth Vader and a group of children, Copyright: picture alliance/Mary Evans Picture Library
Image: picture alliance/Mary Evans Picture Library

Darth Vader, the heavy-breathing, ominous black-clad Sith Lord, is the most famous helmet wearer in the entire galaxy.

Now the central character of the popular Star Wars saga is to be at the center of a German campaign to get more people to wear a bike helmet, which is not compulsory by law in Germany.

A towering black Darth Vader will stare down from billboards in the cities of Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt with the following message to Germans on bikes: "The saga continues, thanks to the helmet. True for every galaxy and on a bike."

darth vader poster
A campaign that is sure to grab attentionImage: Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur

The campaign is scheduled to start on May 19.

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Wearing a helmet can prevent head injuries and even save lives in an accident, but many Germans don't seem to be aware of that fact, the Transport Ministry (BMVI) writes on its website.

According to recent figures, 69 percent of children between the ages of six and 10 wear a helmet, but only seven percent of people aged 17 to 30.

The organizers were pleased to announce that the cooperation partners Disney Deutschland, Disney International and LucasFilm International were willing to provide the licensing rights free of charge in support of the unusual German traffic safety campaign.