Helmet laws
Photo: STAR
This refers to the enforcing helmet laws. Everybody agrees that wearing crash helmets is safe. But the reluctance of some two-wheeler riders to wear a helmet does not have to do with helmets per se. It is the implementation of the rule by the traffic police that is the problem. The police show more interest in cracking down on those riding without helmets than in regulating traffic. As it is, the traffic police are overburdened. They are yet to rein in those who talk on mobile phones while driving, drive without licence, and indulge in reckless driving, and so on. Riders without helmets will accelerate on seeing the police and cause injuries to themselves and other road users. In view of all this, I think people should be given the option to wear helmets. They can be educated on the need to use them. While implementing the rule, care should be taken to ensure that only standardized helmets fulfilling safety norms are sold and the pillion rider wears helmet too. Senior citizens avoid travelling by buses because of the crowd and the risk of being targeted by pickpockets. They find it safer to ride two-wheelers. Forcing them to carry a burden on their heads in the form of helmets will amount to torturing them. Would it not be wiser to leave it to the discretion of the riders to wear or not to wear?
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