Despite booking 20,000 people booked for violating the helmet rule in just four days, a large number of two-wheeler riders continue to avoid wearing helmet.
Experts attributed this trend to the failure of traffic police to carry out sustained drives.
The drive against helmet rule violation has been on in the city sporadically right from the time when K.S. Vyas was made DCP Traffic in the late 1980s. Experts said any rule enforcement would be successful only when it is carried out regularly and does not end as a flash in the pan. They said that the ruling party should not water down the drive to please voters.
Prof.S. Nagabhushan Rao, Engineering Staff College of India former director-general and expert in transport engineering, said the helmet rule was withdrawn during the period of then Chief Minister Marri Channa Reddy. It was enforced in 1995 but a public outcry along with the Opposition’s allegation that the ruling party was giving business to helmet manufacturers saw enforcement being stopped.
In 2005, the rule was enforced with gusto when Ms Tejdeep Kaur Menon was in charge of traffic. The drive was subsequently discontinued. “In foreign countries, even bicycle riders especially kids wear lightweight protective head gear. The traffic police should continue its drive with the same intensity for three to four months. Second, there is a lot of scope for IITs, Central Institute of Road Transport, Pune, Automotive Manufact-urers Association, Pune and helmet manufacturers to conduct research on redesigning the helmets and making them more user-friendly,” he said.
Traffic and transport expert Prof. P.R. Bhanumurthy of JNTU said there should be no political interference as the morale of traffic cops goes down due to it. “Motorists are reluctant to wear helmets as there is a general feeling that the special drives are only to satisfy the court or to achieve the revenue collection targets,” he said.
DCP Traffic, Hyderab-ad, A.V. Ranganath said that the government has given a free hand to traffic cops. “Our aim is to continue the drive and also intensify it. We are bound by court directions to enforce the helmet rule and there is no going back,” he said.
