Lack of awareness about the importance of wearing helmets, combined with a reluctance about using them, has proved costly for two-wheeler riders in Pune city and Pimpri-Chinchwad, as 637 of them have had to pay with their lives in the past three years. Only one of them was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Over 1,000 two-wheeler riders also suffered serious injuries, and some of them ended up being in a permanent vegetative state. According to information from Pune Traffic Police, in 2017, as many as 212 two-wheeler riders were killed on the roads of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad between January and December. None of them had worn a helmet. As many as 417 two-wheeler riders also suffered serious injuries and 228 sustained minor injuries during that period. The total number of fatalities and injuries to bikers —over 800 — is the highest ever in the city, said traffic police. In 2016, 185 two-wheeler riders had died and 369 had suffered serious injuries. In 2015, 240 two-wheeler riders had died and 401 were grievously injured. Of the 637 two-wheeler riders who died in accidents, 70-80 per cent are in the age group of 18-40 years, said traffic police. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Ashok Morale said they have been taking action against two-wheeler riders who don’t wear helmets. “When they are caught speeding by the cameras at traffic signals. we send notices to their addresses,” he said. Morale said it was difficult to understand why two-wheeler riders kept avoiding the protective gear, which is meant to save their lives. “In the maximum number of cases, two-wheeler riders die because of head injuries. We strongly believe that hundreds of lives could be saved if bikers maintain traffic discipline and get serious about helmets,” he said. The traffic police have started a drive to raise awareness by putting up messages on screens at over 200 traffic junctions in the city, said Morale. “The awareness levels among bikers is. very low,” he admitted. Meanwhile, 48-year-old Shankar Pandiyan, a resident of Ganeshnagar, Bhopkhel, is doing his best to raise awareness about the importance of wearing helmets. To celebrate his mother Chandrama’s 75th birthday on January 7, he distributed 75 helmets. Pandiyan said he was moved by the articles in Pune Newsline in November and December, which highlighted the large number of deaths of helmet-less riders. “The articles focussed on how, due to lack of awareness about their own safety, youngsters were dying on Pune’s roads,” he said. Pandiyan said he had lost his father in a road mishap, adding, “My father suffered a head injury in a road mishap. no one should have to die like that.”. DCP Ashok Morale and local corporator Hirabai Ghule were among those who distributed the helmets to the local residents. “It was a unique function. Pandiyan has played his part in trying to spread awareness about helmets in a society that does not seem to care for the protective headgear,” he said.
