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HELMET- THE RIDERS' CONCERN


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Prakasha, admitted unconscious at NIMHANS with a head injury was pronounced dead a few days hence. He was well built, in his thirties, employed with the Govt. and liked by his colleagues. The helmet-rule was very much in force, the streets looked as if waves of commandos were on urgent missions. The traffic was thin, being the early hours of the day when Prakasha on his moped drew up at a wayside petrol pump, hung up his helmet on the handle bar, collected fuel and moved on. The moped tripped over the speed braker nearby, he fell headlong and that was the last his relation with the helmet that lay still fixed on to the bar. Somebody called it a freak accident, some others fate and yet others pondered 'Had he worn the helmet!'
Having made up his mind to dwell over the helmet-rule, the writer walked about for an hour on the main roads and the streets of a well laid-out part of the city to have a close look at the two-wheeler attributes. The pedestrians and other road users are taken for a ride. The first law that the speed of the vehicle must be controlled by its own condition, the condition of the road and the nature of traffic like the buses, trucks, cars, cattle and dogs, and pedestrians across is thrown to the wind. A good many of the two-wheelers ride zig-zag, do not keep to their own side of the roads at the junctions, some immediately cut from right to left or otherwise and also most of them try overtaking from the left. And, what distress that damsel is in to fly past so low, ground hugging with her dupatta fluttering in style and get caught in the wheel of a vehicle? It is almost by a whisker that others escape from rash riders. Hardly a few riders wear helmets. The pedestrians need helmets more, the way the two-wheelers navigate the streets. These observations are not meant an affront to the law-abiding, cautious many, older riders. Every invention, old or new is fraught with dangers, both to the owners and the public. Rules, regulations and conventions are set forth from experience of the use of these inventions to minimise, if not altogether avoid the possible dangers. Powered two-wheeler in general is an unstable rolling device which owes its temporal stability to speed within limits. Accidents happen because somebody in the complicated system of traffic does not go by the rulebook, need not necessarily be the rider. The rider must remember that he is the most vulnerable in the traffic system primarily because he rides on an unstable equilibrium. Pedestrians, quite a number of them illiterate and poor in a country like ours do not appreciate why they should abide by any rule of the road at all. More people are here on the road at any point of time compared to the advanced countries.
Accessibility by roads being generally poor in our country, more and more people throng to the available roadside to make a living. Road users are varied from cattle to modern high-speed limousines. Potholes, humps and channels (cut across the road) are constant sources of dangers for one and all. Unscientifically designed speed breakers (a host of them until recently on Bangalore streets) could easily off-balance a scooterist. Poorly lit roads at night and high beams of the on-coming traffic are irritants. Drunken driving and talking over the cellphone while in motion are other causes of accidents. Traffic signals are inadequate in numbers and in quality. Two-wheelers are seldom equipped with direction indicators to make known the rider's intentions to others. If all these drawbacks are taken care of, accidents can be reduced to a great extent.
Even in a scenario of minimum accidents taking place, the intensity of the suffering of the victims must be reduced. Head injury and consequent death or permanent disability is the worst that could happen to two-wheeler riders. Many scientific papers and statistical data have emerged from the work with NIMHANS that wearing helmets would lessen the intensity of brain damage. Overwhelming evidence and commonsense dictate the advisability of a hard protective cover over the head to save from possible brain damage in accidents. (Look, your favourite cricketer wears it too as it saves them from bouncers thrown at them).
Some people argue that the poor quality of helmet itself can cause brain injury in case of a fall or collision. True, but, the country is sufficiently advanced in material sciences and manufacturing technology to make safe helmets. Earthquakes do not kill people, but the buildings they live in do. People do not cease to live in houses on that count. Likewise, the use of helmets.

Wearing helmet is cumbersome, uncomfortable and uneasy for some. That is a valid point. Comfort and feel-good factor are essential to safe and relaxed riding. If the helmet is forced on their head they may have no alternative to abandoning the vehicle, once for all.







A mobike is a poor man's transport. Adding another thousand rupees compulsorily by way of a quality helmet to the galloping cost of the vehicle and its insurance cover is unfair to the consumers. Judging from the enormous number of two-wheelers on the street, a compulsory helmet-rule evidently favours the helmet industry. Should the Government promote such undue trade practices to help the producers squeeze out more money from the consumers? The law should at least look fair and even, and not again
another avenue for corruption.
Let the industry and the Government educate the rider on the benefit of wearing the helmet. Let the demand be controlled by the market forces and not by forcible intervention by the Government with other over-riding considerations.
If you want your life to be saved it is better to wear the helmet while riding a two-wheeler as there are the dare devils on the run and your life is most valuable! The traffic personnel need to impose heavy fines for the riders of two wheelers who do not wear helmets. Helmets are not a fashion to be worn by the motorcycles either on the handle bar or behind as to protect the number plates of the two wheelers as not to be noticeable by the traffic personnel. This is done on due purpose!