THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Transport officials will enforce the helmet and seat belt rule in the state strictly from mid-August. The Supreme Court directive in this regard will be enforced in phases.
In the first phase from August 5, the offenders will not be booked or fined but the two-wheeler riders and motorists of four-wheel vehicles will be stopped by officials on roads and make them wear helmets/seat belts.
Before enforcing the law strictly, the Transport Department is planning to create awareness among the public in association with the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (A.M.M.A). A meeting with members of A.M.M.A will be held on August 2 in Kochi. Officials of the Public Works Department and Transport Department will also take part in the deliberations.
The decision to enforce the Supreme Court directive in this regard in the state has been conveyed to the Transport Commissioner and the state police chief by K R Jyothilal, principal secretary, Transport. In a letter to them, Jyothilal said the passengers in four-wheelers and pillion riders have not been complying with the rule.
The decision comes as no surprise as in June 2019 alone, 429 road accidents were reported in Thiruvananthapuram district, including 155 in the city and 274 in the rural limits. Of these, 216 accidents involved two-wheelers.
Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) officials are planning a step-by-step implementation of the rule. In the first phase, officials will educate those found without helmets about the importance of road safety rules.
“Two-wheeler riders have been violating the helmet rule for many years. Many helmetless riders have been identified by the enforcement squads during inspections, but they continue to violate the rule. With the number of accidents increasing, it is important that the pillion riders also wear helmets so that the severity of the injury can be reduced,” said Joint Transport Commissioner Rajeev Puthalath.
“During two-wheeler accidents, both the rider and pillion rider are equally exposed to head injuries. However, there is no data regarding the number of pillion riders who have lost their lives in accidents. It was observed that, in most cases, the chances of saving the life of the rider would have been more had the person been wearing a helmet,” said an MVD official.
In June itself, a total of 26,409 people were found not wearing helmets and 5,111 cases were registered in the district for driving without wearing seat belts.