Fwd: SPTM Commends & Supports Traffic Police for ​Enforcement of Helmet Rule

[Rajendra Sidhaye]

Dear All,

As you all know, traffic police have started the drive for the enforcement of Helmet rule, under the leadership of the new CP Mr.Satish Mathur and DCP (traffic) Mr.Sarang Awad. 

 

SPTM has always supported & demanded enforcement of Helmet rule, because: 

1) Helmet is to ensure Safety of two wheeler rider and Safety comes above everything else. 

2) All scientific studies have consistently shown that strict enforcement of helmet rule increases the usage of helmet significantly and significantly reduces the fatalities and critical injuries to 2-wh riders.   

And of course, because,

3) It is part of the traffic rules.   

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Helmet can be surely inconvenient to carry (though, one can use lock & reduce this inconvenience), and Helmet can be unpleasant to use especially during hot summer months. 

However, Safety measures to prevent any form of risk do not come free and they can indeed be inconvenient. However, ultimately, Safety MUST come above everything else. 

Hence, we have issued a Press Note, fully commending and supporting Police in their efforts to enforce the Helmet rule.

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P

l

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ease do always follow this rule also always, and also encourage your near and dear ones, as well as friends and colleagues to use Helmet by choice, while riding a two wheeler.  

Attached here is the press release issued by us.

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Thanks & Regards,

Rajendra

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Sidhaye

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Let's team up to get---> Pune traffic on 'Right' track!

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Major objections about Helmet usage and SPTM’s response

 

1. Helmet limits the Vision and makes you vulnerable

Opening in the helmet for the eyes i.e. the field of Vision, provided by the helmets, is wider than our eye-span. A little turn of the head provides complete view that a rider needs. The two side mirrors on the handle provide a side-rear view for the rider, just with a quick glance. One needs to ensure before riding that the two mirrors are adjusted properly.

 

2. Helmet interferes with hearing

There is enough gap between the ears as well as neck and the helmet. This column of air is sufficient to ensure that rider does not have any loss of hearing. Scientific studies have shown this to be a fact. Major factor that causes loss of hearing is listening to radio or music by plugging the jacks into ears.

 

3. Helmet can cause or aggravate neck pain

Many people have neck pain, whether they use helmet or not, mainly due to sedentary lifestyle, sitting for long hours in wrong posture etc. and not taking regular exercises. So, one needs to do the needful to prevent the neck-pain and treat it irrespective of helmet usage. But if you must ride a two wheeler, you must minimize the risk to your life and hence follow the helmet rule always. 

 

4. You can’t drive at more than 20 / 30 kmph on Pune roads.

There are several roads on which the riders easily cross 50 kmph. Moreover if you collide with other oncoming vehicle, effective speed that impacts you is addition of two speeds.    

 

5. Helmets anyway don’t guarantee 100% safety

Yes, it is essential to drive safely even after wearing helmet! But helmet significantly reduces risk of head injury, which is the highest cause of road fatalities and critical injuries.

 

6. My Safety is my problem. Why should others bother about it

Suicide is also a crime since it impacts family and society. Each person is a national resource. Hence Govt. has authority to enact law to prevent adverse impacts.

 

7. Authorities should make roads free from pot holes and ……

There are many issues regarding traffic and those must be resolved. However, preventing risk to life cannot wait for anything. In fact, other road issues increase risk even more. So, citizens should use helmets whether it is compulsory or not.

 

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Helmet can be surely inconvenient to carry (though, one can use lock & reduce this), and Helmet can be unpleasant to use especially during hot summer months. However, Safety measures to prevent any form of risk do not come free and they can indeed be inconvenient. Ultimately, Safety MUST come above everything else. Helmet law was enacted considering this fact and hence it has to be obeyed as well as enforced.

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[Ranjit Gadgil]

Very good!

-- Ranjit

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[Anil Risbud]

Dear Rajendra,

great job - worth printing and displaying on notice boards of colleges/companies/apartment complexes !!

Also, this might be the right time to think of initiating a regular tracking mechanism for measuring % helmet compliance/fines collected for non-compliance and correlate these with the data related to 2 wheeler accident/injury statistics.

Such tracking could have multiple objectives, e.g.

- impact analysis of awareness campaigns+enforcement actions

- generate objective data that (hopefully) backs the claim that wearing helmets makes 2 wheeler riding safer,

- identify areas/times of poor compliance (e.g. when police not present at junctions?)

- overall: help ensure that the compliance of the 2 wheeler population in Pune as a whole rises with time, by serving as a timely feedback mechanism

Why not make at least a small beginning on a single busy road (say FC/JM roads) during peak and non-peak hours, say on a particular working day each week?

I am sure the outcome would be enlightening, in more ways than one.

rgds,

Anil

On Sun, Nov 16, 2014 at 4:21 PM, Rajendra Sidhaye <rajendra...@savepunetraffic.org> wrote: