Helmet rule: Riders choose cheap deals, risky compliance

LUCKNOW: The 'no

helmet

, no fuel' drive may have led to more people showing up at fuel pumps wearing a helmet, but with several riders focusing on bare compliance and opting for cheap, low-quality helmets, safety seems to have taken a backseat.



While several helmet sellers said their sales had doubled, they also pointed to the fact that most buyers sought unbranded helmets. However, experts say that a helmet not certified for safety is useless, and in fact can do more harm than good in case of an accident.

When asked why he was opting for a sub-standard helmet, Hemant Singh, who was spotted at a helmet shop in Lalbagh, said, "I'm only buying it because I have had to cough up Rs 200 during a police checking drive recently." Other riders had more innovative responses-Ranging from not wanting to spoil their spiky hair to a "medical problem". However, Prof Ajai Singh, professor and orthopaedic surgeon at KGMU, said most so-called medical reasons for not wearing a helmet have no scientific basis.

ASP (Traffic) RS Nim said traffic police are first looking to get two-wheeler riders in the city get used to wearing a helmet. "Checking the quality of the helmets would be next."

Founder of NGO Shubham Soti Foundation, Ashutosh Soti said a helmet protects the most vital organ and therefore is important not just for the rider but also the pillion.