BENGALURU: The ‘Wear Safety Helmet’ campaign by the traffic police appears to have had little impact. At least one lakh helmetless riders have been booked since the campaign was launched on August 29.
Confirming the number of cases, Additional Commissioner (Traffic) M A Saleem said, “This year, over 20 lakh traffic violations have been reported and since the launch of the campaign, we have registered over one lakh cases against riders found not wearing helmets.”
According to sources in the police commissionerate, many riders are reluctant to wear helmets, preferring instead to carry it and wearing it only on seeing traffic cops. Some riders also do not strap on their helmets, which is risky. It is necessary to wear a helmet while riding two-wheelers as the riders are at high risk in accidents. Motorcyclists also suffer grievous injuries in accidents compared to car users.
All the cases were booked by police using digital hand-held cameras, CCTV cameras installed in various localities in the city as well as during regular checks.
This year till date, 201 two-wheeler/pillion riders have died in road accidents in the city. In 2012, 310 deaths were reported, while in 2013, it was 309 and in 2014, 332, the official said.
“As per available data, wearing helmets reduces the risk of head injury by around 69 per cent and death by around 42 per cent,” the officer added.