The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : It is helmet on the head that counts

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Monday, Jun 30, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

It is helmet on the head that counts

Ramya Kannan

Those who still don’t wear helmet form a huge number, says neurosurgeon

About 90 per cent of survivors do not go back to their original profession
Government urged to reconsider exemption for women pillion-riders

CHENNAI: Arumugam*, a 45-year-old two-wheeler rider, was rushed to the emergency unit of a private hospital here after a road accident.

His brain had been lacerated, and he was contused. A surgery was performed and his condition remains critical.

Dinesh*, a 24-year-old engineering student, was also rushed to hospital after an accident while he was riding his two-wheeler. Anxious family members wait for him to recover, but doctors say his condition is critical.

Sharma*, a 45-year-old businessman, had started wearing helmet only after the State government made it mandatory. He was lucky that he had strapped on his protective headgear when his two-wheeler was involved in an accident.

He suffered a skull fracture, but thanks to the helmet, he was discharged a couple of days later.

In sharp contrast are the health outcomes of people who do not wear helmets and those who do. “It is not only the deaths due to accidents that must be counted; the quality of life of survivors of two-wheeler accidents is as important,” says K. Ganapathy, a Chennai-based neurosurgeon and long-time campaigner for helmets.

“For every death we count, there are 10 others who become vegetables, remain unconscious or slip into coma. About 90 per cent of the survivors do not go back to their original profession and function only with sub-optimal efficiency,” he says. “Following brain injury, subtle behavioural changes occur, which will impact severely on the quality of life.” There must be some way of measuring this kind of intangible, and yet substantial, loss as well.

Less severe injuries

However, since the enforcement of the helmet rule, he has treated more patients with less severe injuries. “All of them who went back home had worn helmets at the time of the accident. Helmets definitely reduce the severity of brain injury. They make otherwise irreversible injuries treatable and reversible,” he says.

If 35-40 per cent of the two-wheeler riders wore helmets before the order came into force, now it is 70-75 per cent, Dr. Ganapathy estimates.

“That the use of helmets has increased after the order cannot be disputed. That it has served to reduce the incidence of severe brain injuries also cannot be denied. Unfortunately, the 25-30 per cent who still do not use helmets constitute a huge number,” he reckons.

It is common to find helmets being latched onto the handlebar or the back of the two-wheeler, and the riders, even police personnel, go without helmet.

“It is assumed that if the helmet is on the handlebar or somewhere in the vehicle, there is an intention to follow Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act.” But a helmet on the handle bar offers no protection in an accident.

Dr. Ganapathy calls on the government to reconsider the amendments to the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles Rules, exempting women and children pillion-riders and members of two specific communities from wearing helmets.

(* Names changed to protect identity)

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