Hyderabad: Half-helmet riders, beware!

Hyderabad: Half-helmet users in Hyderabad, beware! After Bengaluru Traffic Police, Hyderabad Traffic Police is all set to now crack down on two-wheeler riders using half-helmets.

According to the traffic officials and road safety experts, half-helmets do not do the job of saving the head; these half-helmets, they claim, are only useful at building sites.

After a severe crackdown on drunken driving, ear-phone driving, cell phone driving, minors driving, the traffic police have now decided to curb the use of half-helmets by two-wheeler riders. Half-helmets provide minimum protection, as these cover only the top of the head, say senior traffic officials and road safety experts.

Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act makes it mandatory for every two-wheeler rider to wear protective headgear conforming to the BIS norms. According to the WHO, motorists without helmets are 40 per cent more likely to die from a head injury. Government records of 2016 show at least 10,135 fatalities in accident cases where the riders were not wearing helmets.

DCP Traffic Mr A.V. Ranganath said, “Looking at the increase in use of half-helmets, we are planning to now book drivers wearing half helmets. Half-helmets give lesser protection than a full-face or even three-quarter helmets. When an accident occurs, the face and every part of your head below the crown is exposed to potential injury. Half-helmets are also much more likely to fly off the head in the impact, even if the chin strap is well-secured.”

Mr Ahsan Pasha from Traffic Sense Foundation said, “Special drives against half-helmets is a welcome move as half-helmets do not do the job of saving the head on a bike. If people wear helmets only to save them from fines, then I think they should be shown a few gory pictures of what happens to the head in an accident.”