Capital District administration  has issued  an order  stating that from July 20  no fuel will be sold  to two-wheeler riders riding without helmets at all petrol depots  in  the capital complex area. This was a long awaited administrative measure and although it seems a little harsh, it was absolutely necessary since data shows that number of road accidents involving two-wheeler riders without helmets are on a sharp rise.
Two-wheeler riders not wearing a helmet or their pillion(s) not caring to put helmets is a very common sight in almost any Indian thoroughfare whether in metros or cities or in rural areas.  News of accidental deaths of  two-wheeler riders not wearing helmets have become distressingly common and noticeably, almost all  administrative mechanisms  throughout  the length and breadth of the country is finding  increasingly difficult to tame this deadly ‘habit’. Despite provisions in law and sustained campaigns by the traffic police of the respective cities and towns, helmet rule violation has remained the most fined offence. In the nation’s capital Delhi over 11.93 lakh riders were prosecuted for riding without helmets in 2018 and that the prosecution  route is a futile attempt of rectification is proven from  the  rising  prosecution figure itself- when in 2016  it stood at over 9.88 lakh, in 2017  it was 11.02 lakh. Fines of a certain amount or even resorting to Gandhigiri  by presenting roses  to the non-helmet bikers instead of fines have proved to be little effective. It seems that the ‘charm’ of riding two-wheeler without helmets just to be a little more hedonistic  has engulfed a large portion of citizens particularly the youth. And now with the urge of putting things to order, more and more traffic authorities are resorting to this ingenious idea of ‘no helmet, no fuel’. Andhra Pradesh has already implemented this on a pan-state basis along with many cities all over India.
With such ‘unfazed’ attitude displayed by the citizens, it is no wonder that India accounts for most of the world’s road accident related fatalities with 98 two-wheeler users without helmets losing  their lives every day in 2017 alone. Although  the total number of road accidents has declined from about 1.51 lakh in 2016 to 1.48 lakh in 2017, the number of deaths arising out of lack of safety gears like helmets  had actually worsened from approximately above  10,000 cases  in 2016 to  nearly 36,000 in 2017.
In Arunachal, wearing helmets is more necessary as the roads frequently remain ‘inhospitable’ both due to man-made and nature induced reasons. It would be more welcoming if this justifiable action of  ‘no helmet, no fuel’ is implemented on a pan-Arunachal basis under a  strict and  sustained  monitoring  radar.

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List