A helmet may have saved Saloni's life

NEW DELHI: Saloni Arora need not have died. Had she been wearing a helmet, the head injuries the 29-year-old MNC employee suffered (when a blueline bus dragged the motorcycle she was riding pillion on Wednesday) may have been less than fatal. Her friend, Ravi Shankar, the rider, survived. He was wearing a helmet. In the city, 25.39% of the fatal accidents involve two-wheeler riders.Of these, about 20% casualties are pillion riders without helmets. In the last year, 1,80,679 people were prosecuted for not wearing helmets, while in 2003, this figure stood at 1,81,032. It is a strange law that insists male pillion riders wear helmets, while women need not. In 1997, following a high court ruling, it became mandatory for pillion riders to wear helmets. But in June 1999, after protests from women activists, the Delhi Motor Vehicle Act was amended and it was no longer mandatory for women to wear helmets, rider or pillion. However, a traffic official admits, "Helmets should be made mandatory. Lives of men or women are equally precious. How can the law be different on that?" Rohit Baluja, president of Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) agreed wholeheartedly: "The Motor Vehicle Act exempts only turban-wearing Sikhs from wearing helmets. Field tests have proved that a well-tied turban actually gives very good protection. But for others, helmets are necessary. After all, it's for a rider's safety, and people should themselves be aware of this."