Police create helmet awareness campaign in Vellore, Tirupattur

Traffic police in Vellore town on Thursday created an awareness campaign among two-wheeler riders on the importance of wearing a helmet.

Traffic police in Vellore and Tirupattur on Thursday launched an awareness campaign to create awareness among two-wheeler riders on the importance of wearing a helmet before strict enforcement of revised fines from December 1 onwards.

The initiative was based on orders of N. Mathivanan and Shreya Gupta, Superintendent of Police for Vellore and Tirupattur respectively, after a steady rise in the total number of accidents in these districts, which are located on Chennai – Bengaluru Highway (NH 44). ““The idea is to encourage and motivate two-wheeler riders to wear a helmet to ensure their safety. The initiative is part of road safety measures taken by the district police,” Mr. Mathivanan told The Hindu.

As part of the campaign, traffic police honoured motorists who were wearing helmets at key intersections like Green Circle, a roundabout below Chennai – Bengaluru Highway in Vellore, Vaniyambadi bus terminus junction, Rajiv Gandhi Road intersection in Ambur and near Collectorate office in Tirupatur by distributing flowers, chocolates and pens. “Such awareness campaigns using dolls and mickey mouse also help children to learn to follow such safety measures as they grow,” said S. Priya, a motorist.

The police said that on an average, 10-15 accidents occur in these districts every month. Most of the accidents occur mainly in village roads and stretches maintained by civic bodies as these stretches do not have adequate safety measures like warning signages, blinkers and reflectors. Head injuries have been reported in most of the road accidents in these districts.

The police said that revised fines for traffic violations, including not wearing helmets, will be strictly enforced from December 1 onwards. Under the revised fines, riding without a helmet now attracts a penalty of ₹1,000 instead of ₹100.

For starters, drivers without holding a valid driver’s licence can attract a fine of ₹5,000 as opposed to ₹2,500 that was collected earlier. Revised fines will be imposed for 15 such traffic violations from December 1, the police said.