Hyderabad: A youngster from Mettuguda does not wear a helmet because he feels it spoils his hairstyle, while another young woman from Banjara Hills thinks helmets cause dandruff issues: These are among the excuses that Hyderabad traffic police were given by helmetless riders caught during a special drive taken up a few days ago.
Cops say the excuses oscillate between hilarious and mundane. For instance, a youngster surprised cops at Begumpet, saying he was not wearing helmet because he just underwent hair transplantation. But many others — both men and women — just say that they find wearing helmets suffocating and heavy. They also say they avoid helmets only while going short distances for petty tasks like buying veggies or picking up a family members from the bus stops. Forgetting helmets at home is another common excuse.
Religious preferences are also being cited often for driving helmetless. Another trend, particularly among youth, is that they carry their helmets but do not wear them. Instead, they place them on the fuel tank on the bikes or hang them on the crash guards, luggage hooks, or place them in the space near their feet on scooters, a traffic inspector from the central zone said.
Cops say there are some who wear helmets but do not fasten the strap, which is as good as not wearing a helmet. There are also those who wear a helmet when they see the cops and remove it after passing by, which is equally dangerous. “In both cases, they might lose balance, and the result could be fatal,” said an inspector from the north zone of Hyderabad city police.
‘HELMETS REDUCE HEAD INJURIES’
P Viswa Prasad, addl commissioner of police, traffic, Hyderabad, said motorcyclists are the most vulnerable group when it comes to fatal road accidents, and head injury is the single most common fatal injury seen among them. This year so far, there are 215 fatal road accidents, of which 100 victims have been motorcyclists, and 46% of them were not wearing helmets at the time of the accidents. “Wearing a helmet reduces the risk of head injury by 70% and fatality by 40%, and not wearing a helmet increases the risk of fatal injuries three times,” said Viswa Prasad.
“We urge people to wear helmets and strap it. From a habit formation perspective, if one continues wearing a helmet for 21 days, it becomes second nature, and then one is will not be able to ride without it,” he said.
