Unlike the 2015 fiasco in the implementation of helmet rule that lasted only for about six hours on the first day, enforcement of the rule this year has made a difference in the way it is perceived by motorcyclists.
Four months ago, the State government made helmets mandatory forcing the majority to buy the headgear but not all of them got used to wearing them.
As a result, a whopping 2.21 lakh motorcyclists were fined by the city police this year so far.
“Most of the motorcyclists own helmet but only a few wear it regularly and the rest are getting caught in the regular drives conducted at 12 spots and surprise drives in the city,” said DCP (L&O) and Traffic in-charge Kanthi Rana Tata.
“There are a few repeat violators and their bikes have been detained and released only when a helmet was bought,” he said.
Dip in fatalities
Apart from the helmet rule, several initiatives like making roads pothole free and laying new roads in collaboration with the departments concerned resulted in fewer snarls and accidents and fatalities.
So far, 352 fatalities occurred in 333 accidents as against 383 fatalities in 363 accidents last year. Also, the number of accidents causing grievous injuries came down from 433 (533 injured) in 2014 to 263 (328) this year, a 40% dip.
The number of minor accidents due to rash driving rose from 91 last year to 151 this year.
Jersey barriers
Starting from the Krishna Pushkaram last year, the city police began focusing on the road infrastructure.
To streamline the roads and junctions, the police have extensively used jersey barriers (a type of barricade), named after New Jersey which first used them several decades ago, to curb the unruly movement of vehicles and create temporary road paths and u-turns.
“We have three national highways, including two passing through the city, within the commissionerate limits spanning over 108 km like no other city has. Our focus is on the highways and connecting roads as most accidents take place there,” Mr. Rana said.
Also, signalling systems have been restored and new ones installed at 40 junctions after several years.
Nevertheless, traffic snarls continue to occur during peak hours and only the completion of the Benz Circle and the Kanakadurga flyovers can put an end to them.
