Of the steady stream of road accident cases wheeled into the emergency rooms of Mumbai’s hospitals, experts said a significant number are of people riding pillion, and in most cases without a helmet.
Small wonder then that the State Transport Department’s Saturday circular making helmets mandatory even for pillion riders has got a thumbs up from doctors manning casualty wards, even as the traffic police are awaiting stronger laws to ensure better compliance.
In 2014, India recorded 481,805 traffic accidents, in which 481,739 persons were injured and 169,107 died, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
On average, Mumbai hospitals record two to 10 accident cases every day, most 0of them involving two-wheelers. Riders suffer injuries mainly in the head, chest, abdomen, and the pelvic region.
The cause of the accident is more often than not rash driving, doctors said.
“On average, we get two to three cases of road accidents every day, and a majority of them are pillion riders. Accident cases registered after 10 pm almost always involve youngsters that have suffered serious injuries,” said Dr Atul Yadav, casualty medical officer at KEM Hospital in Parel. He said that most sustained head injuries. JJ Hospital casualty ward medical officers said they get at around 10 road accident cases a day.
Private hospitals recorded a similar trend.
“Last week, a couple on a bike were involved in an accident. The man was wearing a helmet, but his wife, who rode pillion, wasn’t wearing one, and suffered a grievous injury,” said Dr Sandeep Gore, consultant and head, department of accident and emergency medicine, Fortis Hospital, Mulund. Mumbai Traffic Police said they can’t emphasise enough the importance of the helmet rule, but also rue poor compliance.
“Both the rider and the pillion are at equal risk. It is essential that both wear helmets,” said Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic). He added that a fine of Rs 100 is not really effective. “We are waiting for a stronger law for people to comply with. The recent Government Resolution (GR) authorising police officials to suspend licences for traffic violations has been rather effective.”
Road safety experts say it is time for the Maharashtra government to make helmets mandatory for even children who ride on two-wheelers with their parents.
“There is still no discussion on helmets for children in India. On average, 20 children die in road accidents in the country every day. This is a big gap the government needs to plug,” said Piyush Tiwari, founder and CEO of Save Life Foundation, an NGO working for road safety.
