Make wearing helmets mandatory in TN, say doctors

CHENNAI: Doctors on Sunday, celebrated as World Head Injury Awareness Day, advised people to wear helmets while driving two-wheelers. According to the state police, Tamil Nadu saw as many as 5,522 road accidents in January 2011, a 12% increase in the number of accidents in December 2010, and most of the victims were two-wheeler riders.
"Tamil Nadu, particularly Chennai, has the distinction of having the maximum number of fatal road accidents in the country," said Dr M Balamurugan, senior consultant of department of neurosurgery at Apollo Speciality Hospitals.He added that most of those involved in two-wheeler accidents were between the ages of 18 and 35, or those who could contribute the most to the economy.
He said head injuries could be classified into minor, moderate and severe head injuries and added that hospitals were now seeing an increase in the number of cases of severe head injuries. "Of all the head injuries we see in a day, 99% are caused due to road accidents. We see 4-5 severe head injuries a day, which is a very high number," said Dr Balamurugan
Dr K Sridhar, head of the department of neurosciences at Fortis Malar, agreed and said there had been an increase in the number of accident cases received at the hospital. "Most are victims of rash driving, which includes overspeeding and driving under the influence of alcohol, and also because of random crossing of busy roads by pedestrians," he said.
Doctors stressed the importance of wearing helmets and the need to make wearing them compulsory in the state. Dr Balamurugan said that though the Neurological Society of India had run a campaign and the court had directed the state government to make helmet-wearing mandatory, it had not been done yet. "In almost all states, except Tamil Nadu, it is compulsory to wear helmets," he said.
He added that 60% of the fatalities in road accidents could be prevented just by wearing helmets while 90% of the fatalities occur in cases where helmets are not worn
Doctors also stressed on the need to treat the victims within the first one hour of the accident, also known as the golden hour. "Many lives are lost because valuable time is lost in getting the patient to a hospital and basic life support is not given within that crucial first hour," said Dr Sridhar.
But prevention is better than cure and doctors said strict enforcement of laws, following road rules and conducting awareness campaigns to ensure safe roads were important.
"Severe head injuries can cause permanent disability in many people and are also a long-term drain on the country's resources. We need to bring down the number of road accidents," said Dr Balamurugan