The compulsory helmet rule is set to be revived in the city again. This is being done taking into consideration the increasing number of two-wheelers in the city which account for almost 78 per cent of the total number of vehicles in Chennai.
The issue was brought up in a recent review meeting chaired by the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Karuna Sagar. The safety of the two-wheeler riders, which has always been a challenge to the city’s traffic police, was accorded top priority. Forcing two-wheeler riders to wear helmets will help bring down the number of head injuries was the common consensus at the meeting.
The other factor found to be one of the major reasons for accidents was two-wheeler riders having more than one pillion rider at times. Traffic policemen also reviewed the accidents caused by drunken drivers.
Besides advising two-wheeler riders to wear helmets, the police would also crack the whip against defaulters. In addition, the traffic police have also sought the cooperation of the two-wheeler riders in the city as those riding without the helmet have always been vulnerable to accidents.
This year, till October 31, Chennai saw 2,478 two-wheeler accidents, of which 654 were fatal.
Investigations revealed that in 547 of the 654 fatal accidents, the riders were not wearing helmets.
During 2010, the city witnessed as many 2,542 accidents involving two-wheelers and 694 of them turned out to be fatal.
Subsequent investigations established the fact that 682 of the 694 fatal accidents were caused as the two-wheeler rider was not wearing helmet. The city also saw 2,715 motor accidents involving two-wheelers in 2011. As many as 683 lost their lives in those accidents and of them, 667 did not wear helmets.
At present, the city handles around 40 lakh vehicles, of which around 30 lakh vehicles are two-wheelers.