Hyderabad: Two-wheeler riders riding without a helmet is the most common safety rule violation noticed by the traffic police in the three police commissionerates that cover the twin cities. Other common offences are driving on the wrong side of the road, and triple riding on a bike. Despite massive enforcement drives to contain such violations of the Motor Vehicles Act, the impact on motorists has been minimal.
In the last six months, the traffic police of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda police commissionerates have booked over 34 lakh cases against bikers who failed to use headgear while riding. This is a huge number and much higher than in previous years.
In Hyderabad alone, about 20.83 lakh bike riders were booked for not wearing a helmet since January 1 this year. In Cyberabad and Rachakonda, 7.87 lakh and 6.08 lakh bike riders were penalised for the same violation respectively.
Around 650 fatal road accidents have taken place in the three commissionerates in the last six months and at least 100 of the fatalities were of persons riding without a helmet — both the driver and pillion rider.
Only the Hyderabad traffic police are classifying the data currently on fatalities caused in helmet-less driving, but the Rachakonda and Cyberabad police have recently taken up the initiative. “A change has been noticed among the drivers of motorcycles and there is more compliance. But many people still have to comply with the rule which could save their lives. Death of a person in a road accident is an irreparable loss to a family. It can be avoided by taking the precautionary measures,” said Anil Kumar, Additional Commissioner (Traffic), Hyderabad.
“We have been studying every fatal accident carefully to come up with solutions. None of the bikers who were killed in the road accidents in Hyderabad were wearing a helmet at the time of the mishap, and also not the pillion riders,” said another Traffic police official from Hyderabad, adding that the increasing number of cases of those wearing headgear was a result of non-contact enforcement, which helps in identifying more violators.
