In a 10 city survey that was conducted by a life insurance company, some surprisingly worrying facts have come to the fore. The results of the survey showed that comfort continues to take precedence over safety among bike riders. Even with rules being made about the necessity of helmets, many tend to put appearances and comfort over safety. We tried to get to the bottom of this conundrum.
Food and beverage manager Kritin Adhia feels that helmets are associated with discomfort. “I feel that people avoid using helmets as they feel it is easier to just hop on. Although the helmet rule is there, its sustainability is questionable. Although people are taken to task by the police for not wearing helmets, if you are able to coax them, you can wiggle your way out of any fines. Personally, a helmet and two wheeler go hand in hand.”
Executive assistant Nishanth Sethi says, “I feel that people do not opt for helmets because of their appearance. They do not want to look bad, or create a bad impression and sadly, would rather put their lives at risk. I can also admit that at one point, I have done this too. This should not be the mindset and one must take precautions to be safe. I had recently read about foldable helmets which are quite easy to carry, I think people should try using them. A few things that the police can do is fining those without helmets, ensuring DUI checks too after 10 pm etc.”
Navjot Singh, a professional is of the opinion that pillion riders should also wear helmets. He explains, “Coming from Chennai, I feel that the roads in the city are much safer. I was amazed to see even pillion riders wearing helmets. I have seen people wear a helmet only when they see a policeman around. Movies greatly influence youngsters as they want to look cool and imitate rash bike scenes. It’s heartening to see cops being strict and stringent in enforcing the law.”
Ex-Director-General of Police and Inspector-General of Prisons HT Sangliana advises, “I feel that youngsters don’t know the value of safeguarding themselves. From what I have noticed, a lot of deaths in accidents are due to a crack in the skull, and not because of compound structures. They don’t know that it is for their own safety that police are enforcing the helmet rule. They should, out of their own interest, wear helmets that are of good quality. I also feel that the police should be much stricter in enforcing rules.”
