Pillion riders unfazed by compulsory helmet rule

(Rep image)

Trichy: Two-wheeler riders in the city, especially those on pillion continued to ride without helmets despite the compulsory helmet rule enforced four days ago.
While traffic police personnel on some of the arterial roads caught bike riders without helmet, they seemed unperturbed by the latest rule unlike the panic that prevailed during the enforcement of the helmet rule in November 2017.

Meanwhile, the Trichy city police also preferred to implement the rule on a slow pace by registering few cases and imposing fine on only a few while letting off the other violators with a warning.

According to them, the number of cases registered against riders and pillion riders from August 23 to 27 for not wearing helmet was 2,894 and 1,252 respectively.

Commissioner of police (CoP), Trichy A Amalraj said that people are yet to realize the necessity of wearing helmets. “We ask the people to abide by the rule for their personal safety. The enforcement will be going on consistently,” Amalraj told TOI on Monday evening.

Trichy rural police also issued an advisory making helmets compulsory for pillion riders in rural areas. They also started imposing fines for violation. Till Monday from August 23, they booked 519 cases of violations on pillion riders alone.

Superintendent of police, Zia Ul Haq said their intention was to drive home the point that the pillion rider was also equally vulnerable to sustain injuries in case of road traffic accidents.

“We are not emphasising on imposing fines for helmet violations. Ouraim is to make both riders and pillion riders wear helmets for their safety,” Haq told TOI.

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