A man was thrown off his bike while negotiating a turn at a traffic island after his motorcycle was hit by a tractor. The front wheel of the tractor ran over his shoulder and then over his head. Luckily, he was wearing a helmet and his head was intact, though he suffered a broken shoulder.
It may sound like a piece straight out of Ripley’s Believe it or Not! But, this happened in Hyderabad about a decade ago. Ajay Kumar Bopanna, the victim, became a successful florist later.
More recently, in Visakhapatnam, two youths died after sustaining head injuries after being thrown off their bike. Naresh (29), who was riding a motorcycle, and Chiranjeevi(32), who was pillion riding, succumbed to their head injuries when the rider lost control while negotiating a sharp curve, due to over speeding, and were thrown off the vehicle on the Simhachalam ghat road in April this year.
The number of deaths, involving two-wheeler riders in the city, was 120 and 411 were critically injured during 2014. The deaths during the first half of this year was 58 and 209 were injured during the same period.
The fatalities for not wearing helmets had declined by about 15 per cent following the awareness campaign launched in April this year.
To check further fatalities, the Special Committee, constituted by the Supreme Court, has recommended stringent punishment of two-wheeler riders not wearing helmet with effect from November 1.
The punishment includes imposition of fine, cancellation of licence and even jail sentence. The RTA, the Police Department and NGOs have already conducted a number of road safety awareness programmes and motorists can no longer feign ignorance. “Orders have been issued to the staff recently not to register new two wheelers if the owner does not possess a helmet,” Deputy Transport Commissioner S. Venkateswara Rao has said.
Myths and facts
There are several myths among motorists about the use of helmet. These include a feeling of suffocation, inability to hear the horn of other vehicles and hair fall.
On the contrary, wearing a helmet protects ears from the blaring sound of horns, especially at busy traffic junctions, and prevents headaches and blood pressure.
It also protects the face from the ultraviolet rays of the sun and thereby prevents tanning of the skin.
Two-wheeler riders, especially those who are involved in fieldwork and have to drive long distance are constantly exposed to carbon monoxide emissions from vehicular traffic. The carbon deposits accumulate on the hair and one can know it by observing the black colour of water which falls from their hair, when one takes a shower at the end of the day. Those who use a helmet are saved of this problem. They can also save themselves from the toxic emissions and dust entering the nostrils.
