Visakhapatnam: In what comes as a major win for the Port City’s road safety situation, official data have shown that nearly 90% two-wheeler riders in the city are wearing helmets. Both the road transport authority (RTA) and the city traffic police have attributed this positive development to effective policing.
Speaking to TOI, GC Raja Ratnam, deputy transport commissioner, RTA said, “We have registered 90% helmet usage among two-wheeler riders in the city. This has been possible with the collective efforts of all stakeholders and public support.”
He further said, “Our intention has never been to just collect fines. We have sought to inculcate the practice of wearing helmets as safety gear to prevent road mishaps.”
M Ramesh Kumar (ADCP, traffic) said that traffic cops no longer stop people violating the helmet rule. Instead, the cops take pictures of those violating the rule, he said.
Nearly 530 traffic cops are engaged in regulating traffic in the city daily. Of these, 300 cops check to see if people are wearing helmets and take pictures of those violating the rule.
“We send around 2,000 challans to rule violators with a penalty of Rs 135 per violation. The efforts have helped us get desired results,” Kumar told TOI.
A campaign focussed on making people wear helmets was launched in October 2019. Since then, the police have been conducting vigorous checks and are imposing penalties.
A significant number of such drives were conducted at Siripuram Junction, Jagadamba Centre, Gajuwaka, Kancharapalem, Hanumanthwaka Junction and RK Beach among other places.
The wearing of helmets while riding two-wheelers is mandatory as per Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act. The helmets must conform to the quality standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Source: Economic Times
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