Helmets for pillion riders are extremely important as the pillion rider do not have control over the two-wheeler and cannot even anticipate if a mishap that is to occur.
There is a false notion among youngsters that hair-fall will occur when one wears helmet, but it is not true clinically as per medical experts. Everybody including women and children should wear helmets as protecting head is protecting life, and even in high temperatures helmets should not be avoided giving random excuses such as helmet will heat up the head.
It is strongly advised and recommended that all the vehicle manufacturers shall give away two helmets free of cost/or as compliments along with the vehicle that they sell as the vehicle’s cost itself varies from Rs 50,000 to more than a lakh. And also they should design the vehicle in such a way to accommodate the two helmets.
People buying spurious helmets costing a mere Rs 100 to 200, definitely will not yield any results. Hence it is mandatory to use Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) standard helmets to safeguard one's head whether government tells or not or Supreme Court rules or not. Its one's own head and one should protect it.
(The writer is a traffic expert.)
