Mangaluru/Bengaluru: Riders wearing helmets, and getting fined for wearing the wrong type of helmet is something that riders across the city have accepted,in their own interest and out of compulsion of law. However there is an amendment coming along – Helmets may soon be made compulsory for pillion riders too by September this year across Karnataka.

Transport Commissioner Rame Gowda said that the Supreme Court had directed the State government to make the helmet rule compulsory for pillion riders in the six corporations (Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Belgaum, Kalaburagi and Mangaluru) where the helmet rule is already in force, as well as in the rest of the State by September.

Section 129 of the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, 1998, stipulates compulsory helmets for riders.

This section also elaborates that every person riding a motorcycle of any class or description shall wear protective headgear conformed by the specifications of the Bureau of Indian Standards.

Referring to the accident in which 20-year-old Anand Mathew died of head injuries, Mr. Gowda said that pillion riders were more vulnerable to fatal accidents and wearing helmets could save lives.

Statistics reveal that over the past five months, 142 persons including riders and pillions have been killed and 830 persons sustained serious injuries in accidents in the city.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.A. Saleem said that by making the helmet rule compulsory, the number of fatal road accidents could reduce drastically . “Compared to other road users, pillion riders are the most vulnerable,” he said.