Saturday, Sep 06, 2003
Saturday, Sep 06, 2003 |
| Southern States | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Southern States
-
Kerala
By Our Special Correspondent
But the action consisted mostly of mild warnings on the dangers of travelling on two-wheelers without helmets. Fines were, however, imposed on some persons in a few places. The festive season, the shortage of quality helmets in the market and the resolve to give the two-wheeler users one more chance in that order are said to be the reasons for the Police's lukewarm approach to the issue. The situation may hot up after onam. Two-wheeler riders constitute the largest segment of road- users in Thiruvananthapuram district. However, only less than 20 per cent of them wear protective headgear. Hence, `undiluted' enforcement of the High Court order making helmets compulsory for two-wheeler riders is likely to be an `uphill task', a traffic police official said. Thiruvananthapuram is also a district where helmet opponents have a strong base. Recently, hundreds of two-wheeler riders had taken to the road against the move to make helmets compulsory. There is also confusion prevailing over whether helmets would be compulsory for minors travelling on two-wheelers. The City Police Commissioner, Rajan Singh, said that traffic enforcement would be on a `first-thing-first' basis. ``Adult riders, including the one riding pillion, would be expected to have helmets,'' he said. Today in the district, the traffic policemen could be seen waving down two-wheeler riders without helmets and telling them about the High Court order making protective headgear compulsory for all riders. The riders were also educated about the safety aspect of wearing helmets. A traffic official said enforcement would become stricter in the coming days. Our Staff Reporter writes from Kochi: Almost all two-wheeler riders who took to the main roads in Kochi city today wore helmets. Same was the case in most areas falling under Ernakulam Rural. A few motorists and pillion-riders who did not abide by the rule were let off with a stern warning by the traffic police in the city and its outskirts. ``By and large, almost all people have complied with the rule, which came into effect from today. Pillion riders too will have to wear the mandatory protective headgear,'' said the City Police Commissioner, Vinod Thomas. The general feeling is that the police will begin fining motorists only after the Onam celebrations are over. The police are unlikely to insist on children wearing helmets since helmets of their size bearing the ISI mark are unavailable in shops in the city. The Joint Transport Commissioner, Jacob Thomas, DIG, said that the Motor Vehicles Act has specified the use of quality headgear for two-wheeler riders. The Transport Department will soon launch a media campaign so that buyers can identify quality helmets from the inferior-quality ones, he said. Helmets with and without the ISI mark are being sold in Kochi for prices ranging from Rs. 300 to Rs. 1,200. Our Staff Reporter writes from Kozhikode: The city police and motor vehicle inspectors imposed fine on two-wheeler riders without helmets in Kozhikode. The Kozhikode Regional Transport Officer (RTO), N. M. Prabakaran, told The Hindu that the wearing of helmets had been imposed under Section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act. A fine of Rs. 100 per head would be charged for violation of the rule. In the police department, only the traffic SI and local SI have been empowered to check and impose fine on erring motorists. The Assistant Police Commissioner (Traffic), G. K. Srinivasan, said that the police had fined about 100 persons for violating the rule. He said that the rule would be strictly implemented from tomorrow. Meanwhile, two-wheeler riders made a beeline for shops selling helmets today in a last-minute bid to procure helmets. One of the leading helmet selling shops in the city sold out about 200 helmets in just two days.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
