Sir,

Ever since the helmet wearing rule came into force, I have been observing the attitude of the riders of two-wheelers as well as that of the Traffic Police.

I have seen Traffic Police doing the helmet check for drivers as a routine exercise and collecting fines. Though the helmet rule came into existence years back, it has miserably failed to effectively bring awareness in the minds of the riders on the importance of wearing helmets.

It looks like the Police checks are nothing but a futile, wasteful and unintelligent exercise. It is nothing less than an eye wash. I will give two reasons:

Helmet wearing is not just putting the helmet over the rider’s head. Mere helmet wearing without properly securing a strap is worse than not wearing the helmet. A helmet is not an ornament. Police should have an effective plan in place for educating the riders on the importance of wearing the helmets properly with using the straps correctly.

More than 90 percent of the riders just put on the helmets and never bother to secure the straps. The most unfortunate and agonising thing is that many of the Traffic Police themselves ignore this point.

I myself have seen Traffic Police personnel right in front of the Traffic Police Station, failing to wear helmets properly. If the Police themselves have such scant respect for the rules, how do they expect it from the public. I wish the Traffic Police do some introspection in this regard and cleanse their own internal system. I would suggest the following: Police should check every two-wheeler rider for proper and correct wearing of helmets, using the straps correctly.

The rider should be educated in a friendly manner on the importance of correctly wearing a helmet. This exercise of monitoring should be regularly carried out extensively for a few months, say at least six months.

After the lapse of six months, through a notification, a heavy penalty should be levied, and the rider’s licence could be suspended for a certain time for the offence of incorrect wearing.

Along with this check on the helmetless riders should continue, bringing awareness in the minds of the riders. Hope the authorities will seriously look into this matter and do the needful in public interest.

— K.P. Upadhyaya,  Gokulam,  11.6.2025

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