The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Clampdown on helmetless driving pays

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Saturday, May 30, 2009
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Kerala - Kochi

Clampdown on helmetless driving pays

Staff Reporter

35 per cent decline in head injuries from July 2007 to April 2009

KOCHI: The police clampdown on helmetless travel and drunken driving in the city has contributed to a 35 per cent fall in head injuries, in between July 2007 and April 2009. This had a direct fallout on the two-wheeler fatality rate too, since five per cent of those who suffer head injuries in road accidents die.

“The concerted drive by the police also resulted in over 60 per cent of the occupants of cars wearing the seat belts. Moreover, the general accident rate in the city is down by around 28 per cent,” said City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham, who led the sustained drive against rule violators despite opposition from some quarters.

People who rode two-wheelers in a drunken state (and sans helmets) formed a sizeable chunk of those who suffered head injuries in accidents, especially at night. Thus, the drive against both rule violations yielded results. It is estimated that strict rule enforcement prevented serious head injuries to an estimated 800 people in the city, during the past year alone. Even people who came to the city from nearby districts began to wear helmets.

Chin strap

However, there is concern at many two-wheeler riders wearing helmets just for name’s sake.

They do not fasten the helmet using the chin strap. The coordinator of the Rotary Club’s road safety project, George John, said the agency took the lead in distributing 8,000 pamphlets to two-wheeler riders who moved around without fastening the chin straps, to create awareness among them about how the helmet would fall off the head even before the rider does. People, who move around wearing ‘debris caps’ that are used in construction sites, is another common site. Its design is such that it might not help two-wheeler riders survive a crash. Mr John said his organisation would approach the High Court, seeking enforcement of the rule in other districts as well.

St. Jame’s Hospital, Chalakudy in Thrissur began maintaining a separate register for two-wheeler accidents, to keep tabs on the number of head injury patients prior to the helmet rule being implemented, during the three months when it was enforced and after the enforcement lost steam in Chalakudy.

“The number of two-wheeler riders with head injuries fell from around 200 each month, to less than 20 when the rule was enforced two years ago. With little enforcement, it is back to square one now,” said Dr T.K. Manoj, the hospital’s neurosurgeon.

He said that hospital expenses are just a part of the cost involved in treating a head injury patient. A minor surgery at a private hospital would cost Rs 25,000. Intensive care or ventilator support would steeply escalate the cost. This is apart from the post-hospital expenses, the permanent disability the patient might suffer and the agony caused to family members.

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