Pune: Helmet provides accident cover to insurance manager

PUNE: A 30-year-old woman survived a vehicular accident on March 8 without serious head injuries, thanks to the helmet she was wearing.
Manisha Jayant Vaidya-Joshi’s scooty skidded causing her to fall when the motorcyclist right in front of her suddenly stopped near the National War Memorial, in the Pune cantonment, at around 3.15pm. Though she fractured her left hand, her head was protected by the safety headgear.

The Wanowrie police on Sunday booked Tukaram Shripati Jadhav, a guard posted at the Sassoon General Hospital, for causing grievous injuries under the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act.

Vaidya-Joshi, a resident of Shriram Chowk in Hadapsar, is an insurance manager. She is currently recuperating at a private hospital in Fatimanagar.

“I fell to the left and my entire body weight came on my hand. I have fractured my left hand and received 24 stitches. A rod has also been put to support the bone. My head too hit the road hard, but because I was wearing a good-quality helmet, I escaped without major head trauma,” she said and added that she always wears a helmet when riding a two-wheeler. “The insurance company I work for has instructed its employee to compulsorlily wear helmets,” she said. “The policemen posted at the traffic signal send me to Sassoon in an ambulance. My sister later shifted me to a private hospital,” she said.

A native of Jalgaon, Vaidya-Joshi has recently been transferred to Nashik. She is supposed to report to duty at the earliest, but the accident is likely to delay her return to work. “I have already shifted all household goods. After this accident, the doctor has advised me to take bed-rest for one-and-a-half months,” she said.

Investigation officer Rajendra Divekar said, “I have seized Jadhav’s vehicle and have given him a notice to cooperate with the investigation. He will be arrested and a chargesheet will be filed. The complainant’s vehicle has also been seized.”