The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Helmets, seat belts to be strictly enforced: Minister

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Thursday, Nov 29, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Helmets, seat belts to be strictly enforced: Minister

Staff Reporter

-Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Warm welcome: A student greeting Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at the inauguration of a traffic awareness campaign in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

Thiruvananthapuram: Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said the police will take strong action against motorists driving vehicles without fastening seat belts and two-wheeler riders who do not wear helmets.

Inaugurating the traffic awareness campaign for schoolchildren here on Wednesday, he said stringent enforcement of the High Court direction on the use of seat belts and helmets was necessary for reducing the accident rate in the State.

So far, the police resorted to ‘other measures’ to enforce the use of helmets and seat belts. This was following criticism that the police were harassing people under the pretext of enforcing traffic rules, he said.

More than 4,000 die

However, the government cannot be complacent on the issue of insisting on the use of helmets and seat belts anymore. More than 4,000 people die in traffic accidents in the State every year.

A large section of the accident victims were two-wheeler riders who had succumbed to grievous head injuries. Doctors could have saved many of them had they worn protective head gear.

The social loss caused by accidents was estimated at more than Rs.6,500 crore annually, the Home Minister said.

A section of the media, which earlier criticised the government’s resolve to enforce the use of helmets and seat belts, have now written editorials supporting its decision. The Minister blamed bad roads and negligence on the part of drivers for the high accident rate.

He said traffic rules will be made a part of school syllabus. The police should not give any cause for the criticism that they were the ones breaking traffic rules most. Traffic awareness classes will be held for policemen and it will be made part of the community policing initiative of the government.

V. Sivankutty, MLA; Director General of Police Raman Sreevastava, Additional Director General of Police, Intelligence, Jacob Punnoose; Inspector General of Police (Armed Police Battalion and Traffic) B. Sandhya were among those present.

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