‘No helmet, no petrol’ rule to come into effect in Bengaluru from Aug 5

The number of fatal road accidents involving two-wheelers has been increasing over the years, reveals data from Bengaluru traffic police.

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Taking a cue from many states in India including neighbouring Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, police in Bengaluru will enforce a ‘no helmet, no petrol’ rule for bikers from August 5. This the police hope will improve awareness on rider safety in light of increasing fatal accidents.

Speaking to TNM, DCP Traffic East, Bengaluru KV Jagadish, said, “We will hold a meeting with the owners of the petrol pumps on Saturday. We will start implementing the rule from Monday. There are no provisions of penalising the petrol pump workers but we are seeking social cooperation for a good cause.”

According to the Bengaluru traffic police statistics, the number of fatal road accidents amongst two-wheeler users have been increasing over the years. For 2018, the number of two-wheeler riders who died in accidents were 150 which is 10 more than that of 2017. Till last month, in 2019 the number of such casualties had reached 105. The same trend can also be observed in the number of injuries.

A United Nations study says that a proper helmet can improve chances of accident survival of by 42% and helps avoid 69% of injuries to riders.

While statistics show an increase in the number of fatalities among two-wheelers there is a trend of increasing violation of the rule. In 2015, the number of riders fined in Bengaluru for not wearing helmets was 1.77 crore. The same number gradually increased to 1.88 cr in 2016 and more than 2 cr in 2017 respectively.

A similar such exercise was taken up by police in Andhra Pradesh in September 2017 and Kerala state police in August 2016.

Ravindra, President of the Bengaluru Petroleum Owners’ Association, said, “There have been a select few outlets that have been approached by the police as of now. This is obviously good and will increase the safety of the riders. We don’t have a problem with this rule but in certain pockets of the city there are a rowdy elements, who might vandalise the store if we deny them service. So, we have to see what the police proposes for this.”