Rajasthan: Focus on helmets at mega road safety drive

JAIPUR: To prevent deaths of two-wheeler riders during accidents, one of the highest in the state, Rajasthan government has started a mega road safety campaign focusing on wearing helmets in the state.
According to records of the state transport department, every year approximately 4,000 people die in accidents in the state for not wearing helmets.
"Two-wheeler riders are a major victim in all road accidents in the state. It is not clear if it is the mistake of the riders or other vehicles, but around 42%-43% two-wheeler riders are getting killed in such accidents, including pillion or riders themselves. Most of the victims in such cases are middle-aged people who are bread winners," said Vijay Kumar Singh, additional director general for traffic in Rajasthan.
The campaign will focus on ensuring that the riders wear helmets with chin straps locked, sale of only ISI marked helmets, distribution of helmets by vehicle shop owners during purchase of two-wheelers and making sure all government officials to wear helmets while commuting on two-wheelers. Districts like Bhilwara and Churu have issued orders on mandatory wearing of helmets by government officials. The authorities also plan to distribute proper helmets through CSR initiatives.
To address the issue, a comprehensive safety campaign has been planned which involves FM radios and newspapers for promoting use of helmets, roping in social media influencers with large following to propagate the idea of using helmets and its benefits, using social different media handles to spread awareness.
"We are also trying to eliminate sale of non-standard helmets, for which we are conducting awareness as well as enforcement programmes on a regular basis. The state government has also made it compulsory for vehicle dealers to give helmets to the customer at the time of sale of a two-wheeler. This helps in ensuring that every new customer has a proper helmet available to them," added the official.
Despite such measures, authorities face problems in behavioural changes in people using helmets, the heat working as a deterrent and lack of finances to pay fines for not wearing helmets.
"Being a very hot region, Rajasthan is not conducive for helmet use, but there is no other option for safety. At present, voluntary compliance to safety norms when it comes to helmets is around 20% including remote areas and we hope to increase this with activities involving information, education and communication. We have also learnt that enforcement teams are not able to challan poor people who are not wearing helmets as they do not have the fine amount of Rs 1,000 and cannot bear the cost of a helmet at times. Even if the vehicle is impounded, how many vehicles can the officials concerned take, which is why we are trying to bring about a behavioural change and convince people to wear helmets," said Singh.