Wearing helmet for pillion riders was recently announced to be made mandatory by the Ranchi traffic police but there is little or absolutely no awareness among both the traffic police and the two-wheeler users in the city.
Many other existing traffic rules like triple riding and not wearing a helmet are also often overlooked by the traffic police. Such behaviour, on the part of the traffic police, can act as a negative reinforcement, encouraging youth to rush their dare devil bikes without the fear of breaking traffic laws. “The rules are being followed by some and will take time for its complete enforcement. Apart from this in this scorching heat it’s very difficult for the traffic police to see whether all the traffic rules are followed or not," said a traffic police in-charge. “Initially, when this pillion helmet rule was declared, traffic police showed much enthuasism for its regulation, but now it seems as if that zest is fading away. Traffic police of the city show no interest in the proper implementation of traffic rules unlike the traffic police in other metros and thereby the people in Ranchi are becoming more prone to break traffic rules,” said Manjari, a software executive working in Bangalore.