In the early hours of November 10, two youth were killed in a road accident near the ACA/VDCA Stadium while they were on their way to a birthday party. Initially, the PM Palem police suspected that they could have been run over by an unidentified vehicle, but a deeper investigation revealed that the youth had rammed into a lorry and were not wearing helmets.
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In another case, on November 14, a 22-year old woman and her mother died in an accident on BRTS Road at Arilova. Traffic police found that the woman riding the two-wheeler was wearing an uncertified helmet. The woman had also not fastened the clip of the helmet, due to which she sustained severe head injuries after the helmet came off on impact, said Inspector of Traffic (East Sub-division) Ch. Shanmukha Rao.
A series of similar incidents prompted the traffic police to renew their campaign on helmet usage. They have begun holding awareness camps at schools, colleges and public places in the last couple of days and are urging motorists to not use helmets that lack ISO certification.
“The usage of helmets has definitely increased in the city over the years. We rarely see someone not wearing a helmet on NH-16, except some youth. However, several motorists are using uncertified helmets. People must ensure that the helmet covers not only the head but the entire face, and the clip must be fastened so that the helmet does not come off on impact,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ch. Adinarayana.
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The main target is to sensitise youth, especially college students. People must wear helmets even on local roads and not just on highways, the ADCP reiterated.
Special campaign
The city police have initiated a special drive against no-helmet driving on November 30. In a single-day, fines were imposed against as many as 1,818 persons for not wearing a helmet. Out of these, as many as 345 ‘No-Helmet’ cases were booked under Gajuwaka police station limits, while another 158 cases were booked under Dwaraka police station limits. These apart, 11 dangerous driving cases and 33 drunken driving cases were booked.
A few days ago, the city task force conducted a special drive on overspeeding at Beach Road, where they seized seven motorcycles. A number of youth were counselled by the police.