CHANDIGARH: My
hairstyle will get spoilt. I do not have enough space in my scooter. I forgot to carry one. These were some of the reasons many
women cited while they were caught riding two-wheelers without
helmets on the first day of police challaning them for the offence on Wednesday.
As the day began,
traffic cops put up nakas in the city and began handing white slips to the offenders, who tried their best to escape paying the Rs 300 fine. “The mirror of my helmet is broken, so I decided not to wear it as it could cause injury,” reasoned a girl at the Sector 36-37 light point. The policeman refused to buy her story, challaning her. Another claimed she regularly wears a helmet but forgot to do so today. She too had to pay up. The most common excuse was that they were unaware about the new rule and the drive starting from Wednesday.
TimesView
After the UT administration issued a notification making helmets mandatory for women, the city cops undertook a month-long drive to make female two-wheeler riders aware about the necessity of donning these. Even the deadline for challaning was announced a week before, giving enough time to women riders to buy helmets and comply with the law. Accidents can happen to anyone anywhere, and it's safety gear like helmets that can save lives. Surely, people’s lives are more important than their hairdos getting spoilt. The police, too, should have ensured that there were women cops deployed at all checkpoints as per procedure.
At the Sector 21-22-34-35 roundabout, police stopped a number of women riders not wearing helmets, but let them off with a warning.
Some girls even gave cops the slip, zig-zagging their way through the cordon.
Police felt women cops should be deployed too at the nakas. “Obviously, we cannot catch or run after those who try to escape from the naka. There were a few such instances today. Women police constable should be deployed so that they can handle these situations,” said head constable Balbir Singh.
Multiple challans were also issued at one of the points. A number of women riders did not have vehicle documents with them. “Some were not carrying registration papers, driving licences and insurance documents. This mainly because women riders had never been stopped for checking before,” said police sources.
At many places, traffic marshals came on to the roads and appealed to women to wear helmets, not for the fear of law but for their security and safety.
A woman caught riding without a helmet tries to give an explanation to cops in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
