After initial action by the authorities in pursuance of high court orders issued in September 2018 regarding observance of legal provisions like pillion riders also wearing helmets, both the pillion riders and police appear to have become complacent about this rule in Dehradun.
Though some people are following the rule, the majority of the people seem to have forgotten the same. Despite the strict instructions for enforcing such rules, the police too, after a brief drive, appear to have become complacent on such aspects.
The citizens in general opine that they find practical issues more of a hassle than simply wearing a helmet while riding pillion. On the other hand, there are still some aware citizens who wear helmet while riding pillion.
When asked about the reason for people not wearing a helmet while riding pillion, local resident Akriti Rana said, “It is tough to roam around with a spare helmet in hand as two-wheelers have limited space for keeping two helmets. Also, wearing a helmet affects the hair if worn for a longer time.”
Another local resident, Aman Sharma said, “I thought that regulation was over as nowadays the police are not penalising pillion riders without helmets. There is no such reason for not wearing a helmet. Its just that taking care of it while being in the market is an additional burden.”
Another local resident, Ankit Kukreti said, “I always wear a helmet. My wife gives me reasons like helmet will ruin the hairstyle and questions the need for wearing a helmet while riding to a nearby shop. But I forcefully make her wear it as the helmet is for our own safety.”
A policeman handling the traffic near Clock Tower, Deepak Rawat said, “We keep charging fines but people don’t seem to understand the value of the helmet till they meet with an accident.
We regularly conduct awareness drives to make people aware of the need to wear a helmet for their own safety but nobody really seems to care. At times we come across people riding triple on a two-wheeler and not even one of them wears a helmet; this is the condition of the city. Majority of cases in which serious injury or death occurs in an accident is when the rider or pillion rider is not wearing a helmet.
Even the collection of fines does not seem to create much of a difference. The people will take this rule seriously when they start to take their owns lives seriously,” he opined.