In an understanding reached with the Kerala government to enforce headgear in the State, oil majors have decided not to give petrol from August 1 to motorcyclists who do not wear helmets in the three major cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kozhikode.
The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has roped in four oil majors to enforce helmet for two-wheeler riders in view of the mounting fatal accidents involving motorcyclists.
State Road Safety and Transport Commissioner Tomin J. Thachankary said at a press conference here on Wednesday that oil majors had agreed to give instructions to dealers in the three cities to comply with the order.
The decision is in the wake of the death of 1,330 motorcyclists in 14,482 road accidents in the State in 2015. As much as 80 per cent of the deaths were due to head injuries and helmet could have saved some of these lives, he said.
Billing it as a public awareness programme, he said petrol pumps would install boards on their premises to highlight the directive. The decision would be strictly implemented from August 1 as the dealers had sought one-month time.
Instructions had been given to the enforcement wing of the MVD to strictly implement the directive and book the offenders.
The help of the police had been sought and the State Police Chief approached for assistance. The Road Safety Commissioner said oil majors had agreed to install cameras in petrol pumps.
Penalty ranging from Rs.100 to Rs.1,000 could be imposed on offenders. But, the proposed Road Safety Rules had suggested Rs.2,500 as fine for those not wearing helmet. The directive will be extended to other cities and towns in the State later, he said.
The All Kerala Federation of Petroleum Dealers expressed doubts about the practicality of the rule. Federation president Thomas Vaidyan said those responsible for implementing the rule should also suggest solutions to the challenges it posed to petrol pumps.
