ADILABAD: Transport department officials and traffic police have started booking and fining two-wheeler riders not wearing a helmet in Adilabad town. They have also started “No-Helmet-No-Petrol” campaign at petrol pumps at various places in and on peripheries of the town.
Surprisingly, many elderly and uneducated are wearing helmets following restrictions imposed by the Transport Department. But many youth and educated are not following the rule; some even questioning the need for wearing helmets in a small town like Adilabad. They argue that helmet should be insisted upon only on national and state highways.
Many two-wheeler riders have, however, started buying helmets after traffic police started slapping challans after taking picture of bike riders without a helmet. With increase in demand, many roadside shops have sprung up, which are selling helmets at relatively low rates.
A section of people maintain it would be good if Transport Department and traffic police themselves sell quality helmets of ISI standards by procuring them in bulk and selling them at lesser prices. They say helmets should be of quality and protect riders from head injuries in case of an accident. Otherwise, there is no meaning in wearing a helmet.
A sorry feature is some youth hanging helmets on their bikes without wearing them. There have been several instances when such riders have lost their lives. There are also cases of bikers wearing the helmet but not buckling it around their neck. This could be highly risky in case of an accident.
P. Surender of Adilabad town said he was slapped with a penalty for not wearing a helmet while going to a hospital. He later purchased a quality helmet online. He says it is better to wear a helmet in the town or outside as vehicular movement has become dense.
While this is so, traffic police have failed in controlling rash and negligent driving by high-end bike riders that also make a huge noise while they go zooming on the main and inside roads of the town.
District transport commissioner Puppala Srinivas said they have filed 45 cases for violation of helmet rule and seized bikes of helmet-less riders during the first six days of enforcing the rule. They have started the no helmet, no petrol rule from January 1.
Puppala Srinivas said 80 percent of bike riders who die in road accidents are those not wearing helmets.
