Survey: Helmet Users In Ahmedabad Double In January

Surveys have time and again revealed that not wearing a helmet is the cause for almost all fatalities in accidents involving two-wheelers. Despite this fact, most two-wheeler riders in India do not wear helmets citing various reasons.

Results of yet another survey have been revealed, and this time the survey is by the Centre of Excellence in Urban Transport of the CEPT University. The study has found that 90 percent of fatal accident victims are pedestrians and two-wheeler riders.

The city chosen for the study was Ahmedabad, the largest city in the state of Gujarat. This report though had some good news as well. It was found that over 50 percent of two-wheeler riders now wear helmets.

That is more than twice as the last period of survey. Only 25 percent wore helmets during the last period whereas in January 52.3 percent were found wearing helmets. Though the new number is still very low, it is a huge growth.

The study also found that more people now stop at traffic signals. The study was conducted with the help of the Ahmedabad Traffic Police and footage from cameras located at 15 junctions were monitored.

As much as 70,000 riders were analysed at different times during the day, and the findings were obtained. The improvement in the citizens obeying the law can also be attributed to the fact that the Ahmedabad Traffic Police has stepped up the game.

The police have been conduction corrective drives and it included issuing challans and fining over 30,000 motorists almost every day. What makes this better was the fact that most of those who wore helmets wore it irrespective of the day, which meant, an increase in safety awareness initiatives had helped.

Thoughts On Increase In Helmets Usage

It is a welcome change to see an increase in the number of motorists wearing helmets. If the change has happened in big cities like Ahmedabad, it will for sure have a cascading effect and we hope to see helmet-wearing motorists in rural areas in the future.

Source: DNA