Helmetless to be counselled, not challaned; says DCP

Those caught not wearing helmets on highways will not be challaned but counselled by Cyberabad traffic police. “We want to educate the public about road safety, rather than imposing fines. For the purpose, seven road safety checkposts will be established on national highways,” Cyberabad Traffic Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) S. Vijay Kumar told Deccan Chronicle.

The checkposts will be at national highways 44 and 65, Srisailam and Moinabad roads, Bijapur highway, apart from Medchal and Shamshabad routes.

“As commuters from rural areas and villages do not have much knowledge on good helmets and how to use one, we will educate and urge them to wear one. This move is to make the public more responsible,” the DCP underlined.

The Cyberabad police commissionerate has five national highways passing through it with a length of 172.5 kilometres, two state highways of 41 kilometres, Outer Ring Road of 96 kilometres and

PVNR Expressway seven kilometres.

“Many bikers opt not to wear a helmet. Among those who wear one, lot of them are of

of

poor quality. This is because we do not take safety seriously. We often see that fatal accidents are either because of not wearing

a helmet or wearing a very poor quality helmet. This move might educate public or give them a free pass to travel on highways without helmets,” said a road safety expert.

According to a report by WHO, correct helmet use can lead to 42 per cent reduction in risk of fatal injuries and 69 per cent reduction in risk of head injuries.