Hyderabad: Bikers remain the most vulnerable group on the road with at least four of them crashing on the roads every day in Hyderabad. The absence of strict enforcement of helmet rules is taking a heavy toll as one biker is getting killed every two days.
As per Hyderabad traffic police records, 477 two wheelers met with accidents, both minor and serious ones, in the last five months in the city, and the National Crime Record Bureau says 116 bikers and pillion riders were killed last year. The number of deaths due to bike accidents is three times more than the number of deaths caused by any other accidents in the city.
Experts say that main cause of death in two wheeler accidents is head injury. “Multiple injuries were found to be the most common cause of death in pedestrian, three wheeler and four wheeler accidents, while head injury is the common reason for death in bike mishaps,” said a senior police officer from Hyderabad.
Citing the example of Kerala, where two wheeler accident deaths have come down due to the strict implication of helmet rules, he said the city can also try out the same measures. Hyderabad police rarely conduct drives to enforce helmet rules on two wheeler riders, and the penalty for that is minor compared to other road violations.
While the police impose a fine of Rs 1,000 for violations like cell phone driving, signal jumping and wrong parking, the penalty for driving without helmet is just Rs 100. Although the MV Act’s Section 177 makes it punishable, traffic officials admit that unlike the special drives against drunk driving, enforcement of the helmet rule has been a failure.
“We fear that a sudden enforcement of helmet rules would affect a large section. However, we still conduct helmet drives in the city. We have booked over 2,000 cases in the last two special drives,” said the Hyderabad additional commissioner of police for traffic, Mr Jitender.
Most bike accidents were reported from the outskirts due to speeding and drunk driving. Majority of the victims in these accidents were aged between 15 and 30 years. Many were also underaged.
