This picture of the little dog wearing a helmet sitting behind the man on a bike, was an e-mail forward by one of my friends this morning. It may seem amusing to you and so it was for me. But, I was suddenly struck with an idea of writing something about our Kerala road accidents and death caused by not wearing helmets.
Here in this photograph the man has taken special care to protect his dog, from an accident that can happen at any moment. May be, he must have done it for some fun. But what it points out really is about obeying the traffic rules or laws. Now, we need to check- how many people in Kerala still make sure that they wear helmets before they set out on a ride? The increasing number of road accidents in Kerala, shows nothing else but the negligence from the part of people and irresponsibility on the part of authorities in making sure that all two-wheeler travellers wear helmets.
An earlier report in 2009 shows that 16,612 two-wheelers were involved in accidents, in which Ernakulam topped on the list with the highest number 4,101 among towns. So, what do all these reports shows? It is nothing else but, in spite of all the awarenesses, laws and regulations, Kerala still face a sharp increase in the number of road accidents daily.
Although a Full Bench verdict came up in 2003, directing the government and the police to strictly enforce Section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act (which makes it mandatory for two-wheeler riders and pillion riders to wear helmets), some still don’t follow these rules. According to the police reports, most of the accidents were owing to speeding and reckless driving. Most of the injured riders did not wear helmets.
The youngsters particularly those have recently got their licenses often tend to break road rules just for the thrill. Many find it thrilling to overtake dangerously at high speeds. Poor road conditions, bad driving habits, lack of awareness of road discipline and drunken driving have also contributed to the high number of accidents involving two-wheelers in the city. According to the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), two-wheeler riders are among the most vulnerable section of road users. A traffic study by NATPAC pointed out that lack of protective head gear was one of the main reasons for the large number of fatalities in road accidents involving two-wheelers in the State.
Are you wearing your helmet today and is your pillion rider wearing one?
Yes, today road accidents are on the brim and death toll on continuous rise, people need to be more careful and less careless. Wearing helmets (which is today a part of the rule in many metro’s) does not seem to be abided by most of the people. When it comes to authorities, they put the ball in the respective persons court for the negligence of another. So it is better for all to take the rule seriously – to avoid many mishaps and see a better accident-free Kerala in future.