Why is it compulsory to wear helmet in India?

March 18, 2020

In India two-tiered vehicle that is motorcycles, scooter, etc. are easily spotted anywhere ridden by every age and every gender. Two-tier vehicles are also considered convenient to travel locally from one place to another. Though when we use any motor vehicles for our convenience we sometimes take our safety for granted and out of rush you forget to wear headgears. This act of yours lands you to adverse irreversible situations.

As per the 2017 census, 33% of road accidents that happen in India are of those individuals who were riding motorcycles without a helmet[i]. This census gave us an insight that an individual’s life is at stake when every time he/she is not wearing a helmet. Under section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1989 wearing headgears is compulsory for protecting head but this provision does not apply to Sikhs who are driving motorcycles in public areas if they are wearing a turban[ii].

However, the government modified the Motor Vehicle Act, 1989 and added new provisions in the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019. Under section 129, every person who is above 4 years of age riding on motorcycles in public places should wear protective headgear[iii]. This provision provided protection for those who accompany the driver on the motorcycles. While riding motorcycles, it is the responsibility of every rider to check if their accomplice is wearing a helmet or not.

What is the penalty for not wearing a helmet?

The punishment for not wearing a helmet in contravention of section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019 has to pay fine of rupees 1000 and the driving license of such riders will be suspended for three months under section 194D of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019^[iv]. This law is made more stringent and the State Government took an initiative by taking action those who violate it.

Earlier, there was the law regarding those who do not wear a helmet while riding a bike but the strictness in this aspect was missing. This ultimately increased road accidents percent per year. For instance, when a person is riding a bike with someone on his back seat and the pillion is not wearing the helmet then there was no action taken in this aspect, but after the Amendment Act, 2019 now the motorcycle rider will be punishment for allowing the pillion to sit on his back seat without a helmet.

What is the current status of road accidents in India?

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways conducted a survey in 2018 regarding road fatalities. In this report, it’s been mentioned that India ranked top in road accidents with an 11 percent share in the world. It is noted that there has been an increase in the percent of road accidents by 2.3% in comparison with the 2017 report[v].

However, the Government of India took an initiative by making a stringent law regarding violation of the road safety norms that are mentioned in the Motor Vehicle Act, 1989 by bringing a bill in 2019 and later amending it in the same year. The laws were made stringent with the motive to decrease the road fatalities that happen every single minute in India.

What is the World Health Organization report regarding road accidents?

The World Health Organization 2018 report showed that the reason for the death in the youth aged between 5years to 29 years of old causes because of road accident injuries[vi]. The percent of death is increasing only. The road accidents are highest in low-income countries like Africa and South-east Asia with a global rate of 26.6 and 20.6 per 100,000 population and lowest in high-income countries like America with 15.6 per 100,000 population and Europe with 9.3 per 100,000 population.

What are the laws of riding a bike without a helmet in other countries?

There are countries where still there is no law regarding road safety, countries where there is a law with no strictness and countries where strict actions are taken regarding the violation of the law. They are as follows[vii]:

Afghanistan; is a low-income country. In this country, there is no law regarding wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle.
Albania; is a middle-income country. There is a law regarding wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle but the fastening of the helmet is not required. The standard of helmet one has to use is specified and there is no restriction regarding children on bikes.
Argentina; is a middle-income country. There is a law regarding wearing a helmet while riding bikes but there is no such restriction on children for being a pillion on motorcycles.
Australia; is a high-income country. There is a law regarding wearing a helmet while riding motorbikes. This country has specified the standard of helmet one should wear, helmet fastening is important and the children passengers on the bike are restricted for those who are below 8 years of age. This country has riders with 99% of the rate who ride with a helmet.
Bangladesh; is a middle-income country. There is a law regarding wearing a helmet while riding a bike but there is no strictness regarding children’s passengers on the motorbike.
Belgium; is a high-income country. There is a law regarding wearing a helmet while riding a bike and there is a prohibition for children passengers on the bike who are below 3 years or 8 years of age. The percent of riders who are wearing a helmet is 99% and the passengers with a 100% rate.
Brazil; is a middle-income country. There is a law regarding wearing a helmet while riding a bike and there is a prohibition for children passengers on the bike who are below 7 years of age. The rate of riders who wear a helmet is 83% with 80% of passengers who also wear a helmet.
Canada; is a high-income country. There is a law regarding the same but there is no restriction for children passengers on the bike. The rider’s percent rate is 98% with 98% of passengers who wear a helmet.
China; is a middle-income country. There is a law regarding the same with the restriction for the children who are below 12 years of age as a passenger. The rate of percent of the population who wear a helmet is 20%.
Denmark; is a high-income country. There is a law regarding the same and also there is a restriction with the age of children passengers on the bike, that is, 5 years of age. The rate of riders who wear a helmet is 98%.
Egypt; is a middle-income country. There is a law regarding the same but there is no restriction for the children passenger and also the rate of riders who wear a helmet is not available.
France; is a high-income country. There is a law regarding the same but there is no restriction for children passengers on the bike and the rate of percent helmet wearing rider is 98%.
Germany; is a high-income country. There is a law regarding the same but there is no restriction for children passengers on the bike and the rate of helmet wearing riders and passengers is 99% and 100%.
The USA; is a high-income country. There is a law regarding the same but there is no restriction for the children passenger on bike and the rate of helmet wearing riders is 68% and the passenger is 53%.

The mentioned data which is presented by the WHO on the road safety measures taken by each country shows that there are countries that have laws but the rate of helmet wearing riders and the passengers is not very satisfactory. There is a loophole in the law of wearing a helmet, as it is becoming the major concern in the present scenario. As per the 2018 report of WHO, India has 30% of riders who wear a helmet with less than 10% of passengers. The countries where road safety measures are not taken seriously it ultimately leads to death at a larger rate.

Conclusion

Every rider who is riding a bike should always keep in mind that one’s safety responsibility is in their own hand only, and if they are riding with the passenger, they should not allow them if there is no helmet for the pillion rider. It is said that precaution is better than cure. Hence, everyone should be aware of it and support the Central Government in decreasing the road fatalities.

Edited by Pushpamrita Roy

Approved & Published – Sakshi Raje

Reference

[i]https://www.indiatoday.in/diu/story/two-wheeler-death-road-accidents-helmets-states-india-1602794-2019-09-24.

[ii]https://indiacode.nic.in/show-data?actid=AC_CEN_30_42_00009_198859_1517807326286&sectionId=28402&sectionno=129&orderno=134

[iii]http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/210413.pdf.

[iv]http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/210413.pdf.

[v]https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/Road_Accidednt.pdf.

[vi]https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/global_reports/en/.

[vii]https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/global_reports/en/.