Deaths due to non-wearing of helmet on the rise

The increase was 33% in 2018 in the State, says a report

November 19, 2019 11:21 pm | Updated November 20, 2019 11:50 am IST - Vijayawada

Non-wearing of helmet proves fatal for many two-wheeler riders.

Non-wearing of helmet proves fatal for many two-wheeler riders.

Despite increased awareness on use of helmet and enforcement of the safety rule by the police in the State, the number of deaths due to non-use of the headgear increased in 2018.

According to the Road Accidents in India 2018 report released by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), as many as 2,385 persons, including riders (1,707) and pillion riders (678) of motorised two-wheelers, were killed in road accidents as they did not wear helmet.

It was 33% more than the number of such deaths in 2017 during which the number of deaths due to non-use of helmets was 1,586, while it was 477 in 2016.

The enforcement agencies mostly focus on making helmet mandatory for riders although the government made it mandatory for both riders and pillion riders.

In 2018, as many as 6,212 persons sustained injuries which was almost double the number of persons injured in motorcycle accidents where riders wore no helmet.

Also, 846 persons, including drivers and passengers, died due to not fastening seat belt in cars and other vehicles, says the report says.

About 35% of the total accidents involved two-wheelers.

Across the country, non-use of helmets by two-wheeler riders caused 43,614 deaths in 2018 and 35,975 in 2017.

Andhra Pradesh registered as many as 24,475 accidents and 7,556 persons were killed in 2018 against 25,725 accidents and 8,060 deaths in 2017.

The State was in the seventh place in number of accidents and at eighth in number deaths in accidents among all the States and Union Territories.

Andhra Pradesh became the only State among the five southern States to see a dip in the number (1250) of accidents which is about 5 % decrease.

While Kerala registered an increase of 4.4% in accidents, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana registered decrease in accidents by less than 2.5%.

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