‘Can’t ruin my hairstyle’: No helmet, licence for these students on scooter

NOIDA: “I can’t spoil my hairstyle,” was 15-year-old Rohit’s response, when asked why he didn’t wear a helmet while going to school on his gearless scooter.
His conviction didn’t waver. “Also, my school isn’t too far from my house, just about 2-3km away. What’s the use of a helmet for such a short distance,” the Class 10 student of a private school said.
With police and parents turning a blind eye, students in Noida are openly flouting the essential traffic rules.Too young to have a licence, many were spotted driving without wearing a helmet. And others were putting lives at risk, including their own, by triple-riding on two-wheelers.
Occasionally, some parents were also seen in the morning, taking their children to school without wearing helmets, or after having packed three passengers on a scooter.
On an average, police said, 11-12 under-age students were being caught driving every month in Gautam Budh Nagar. But the figure on the ground appeared to be far higher.
Early on Thursday morning, this reporter asked students why they chose not to abide by the traffic rules. A common answer was that the person forgot to carry a helmet — protective gear that can be critical in saving the life of a rider in case of an accident.
A Class 11 student, who was also driving a scooter without a helmet, indicated that it was inconvenient to carry one. “I usually don't wear it because I don’t find any space to keep it. It becomes an extra burden along with a school bag. I always drive safely and don’t go over the speed limit,” he said.
Parents gave their own versions for allowing their children to ride two-wheelers .
“I forgot to wear a helmet because we were in a hurry. My children were late and missed their school bus today, so I had to do triple riding,” said Hemant, who was dropping his two children to school on a scooter.
Another parent said she prefers that her child take a two-wheeler to school instead of being crammed in a bus during a pandemic.
“We live in a city where there is no public transportation and we can’t drop our children to school ourselves every day. Also, due to Covid, it does not feel right to send children to school on a school bus,” said a resident of Sector 12 .
Police said they have been holding awareness drives and had issued notices to schools not to allow entry to the students without wearing helmets. “The awareness drive in schools is showing results. The number of minors found violating the norms has decreased. Before Covid, the number of underage students was even more. This time, it’s an average of 11-12 every month,” said Ashutosh Singh, Noida traffic police inspector.
DCP (traffic) Ganesh Saha said it was the responsibility of the parents to ensure their children followed rules. “We do take action on minors if caught in underage driving. A few days ago, our team also seized a vehicle,” said DCP.
According to the amended Motor Vehicles Act, guardians or parents of minors can be held accountable in case of a traffic offence.
They can be charged a penalty of up to Rs 25,000 or get three years in jail.