As I had mentioned in a previous post, the helmet-compulsory-for-bikers rule was put in
place by the Tamilnadu Government, due to the intervention of the High Court and almost
everyone had scrambled to buy helmets before the date of enforcement.
But then, as is their wont, our politicians played their part in diluting the rule, by issuing
irresponsible statements like "Cops should not harass the public using the helmet rule as an
excuse", "Women and kids riding pillion should be exempted" etc etc. Understandably, there was protest from women's organisations about the latter statement, which they felt implied
that women's lives were not as valuable as men's.
However, looks like the rule is again being enforced strictly (not sure of the motivation), as
can be seen by the majority of bikers using helmets. The other day I was having a cup of tea
at a corner shop which is located at a major junction and was watching the traffic pass by. Almost all bikers (men/women) were wearing helmets which suggested atleast a 95%
adherence to the rule.
However, I did not see even one pillion rider (men/women) wearing helmets, which is pretty
sad given that in most bike accidents, it is the pillion rider who suffers fatal/serious injuries.
Until the government intervenes again, I do not see this changing. For those that complain about having to lug around 2 helmets, the solution lies in getting a helmet lock (costing a few
hundred rupees) which is fitted to the bike and can be used to secure 2 helmets.
It is a contrasting scenario in the neighbouring state of Kerala, which also introduced with
much fanfare the helmet rule. You would not even see 5% bikers using helmets there. This
is inspite of this state being almost 100% literate and newspapers reporting statistics that clearly showed that the month in which helmet rule was strictly enforced had seen a dramatic reduction in fatalities among bike accidents.
Actually, I do not need to look far to see non-conformance of this rule, which is for our own
safety. My father-in-law is a regular biker and inspite of my many subtle and not-so-subtle suggestions, he prefers not to wear a helmet. And mind you, he does have a helmet, which
he promptly went & bought when the government brought in the rule. However, it remains unused, except for the rare times when I use his bike.
My Dad is an occasional biker - he mostly uses his car. He also never uses the helmet and
his argument is that he uses the bike only occasionally and also only within a 1-km radius
of our home, which is not a high-traffic area. Again, he also has a helmet at home. The only
silver lining is my younger sister's husband, who religiously uses the helmet, though this
was not out of his own rational thinking, but because the government enforced the rule.
Still a laudable effort.
When my wife started riding her bike some 6 years ago in Kerala, mainly to go to work,
I was insistent that she always ride with a helmet on, which she adhered to and has now
become second nature for her. There was no rule in place then insisting on helmets being
worn and she used to be a curious sight for people around town because practically no one
wore helmets then. Add to it, the fact that she was a women rider, and there is really nothing feminine about a helmet.
Today, 4 out of 5 women (young working women) in our town zip around on bikes, but
not even one sports a helmet, which could in serious accidents mean a difference between
life and death. It is sad that we need a government to prod us to do something which has
to do with our own safety.
What is more sad is a lack of will in the authorities to enforce a rule that they put in place.
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