Doctors want helmet rule reimposed in City

SUBRAMANIAM, AN engineer, was riding his motorcycle towards Bangalore from Electronics City on Hosur Road when a plastic sheet flew from a garbage dump and covered his face. Even as he was struggling to remove the sheet, the vehicle skidded and crashed into the stone road-divider. Having suffered head injuries, he was declared dead on being brought to hospital.

Abdul, a mechanic on Krumbeigal Road, was test driving the two- wheeler he had repaired when he collided with a private bus. Thrown off the motorbike, Abdul received fatal head injuries and died in Sanjay Gandhi Hospital. Rekha, a student of a private college, succumbed to head injuries after she fell from her moped near Jayanagar 4th Block.

Jayanth, a college student, was learning to side his new motorcycle when he lost balance and fell on the pavement in Vijayanagar. In a fortnight, he succumbed to head injuries received in the accident.

Doctors who have treated the above victims say that the deaths could have been avoided had they worn helmets. Helmets, they say, would have minimised the severity of head injuries and prevented damage to the skull and rupture of blood vessels.

Incidentally, doctors in Bangalore, particularly those from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-sciences (NIMHANS), have been campaigning for making the use of helmets cpmpulsory. Citing the growing number of fatal accidents, the doctors, police and traffic experts point out that helmets can enhance safety for two-wheelers siders just as seat-belts can minimise the incidence of deaths in accidents involving cars.

Pointing to the growing number of road accidents in Bangalore over the last two decades, the doctors say that a majority of road-related deaths could be prevented if the use of helmet was made compulsory. They say that the chances of survival in cases of brain damage are nil.

Two-wheelers, which form the majority of the 10 lakh registered vehicles in Bangalore, and the lack of good transport infrastructure have transformed Bangalore into a city of accidents. It has the dubious distinction of having one of the highest accident rates in the country.

Seeking expeditious enactment of the helmet rule, the medical fraternity voices concern over the growing apathy of motorists towards road rules. Motorists violate almost every traffic rule, and the traffic police have been ineffective in curbing the problem. Safety while driving in Bangalore is a matter of luck.

The Government, doctors say, should ensure that not only those riding the two-wheeler but also those riding pillion wear helmets. However, they warn that making wearing of helmets mandatory alone would not cut down the number of road accidents or road-related deaths. Helmets, they say, will only prevent damage to the brain and skull. The doctors suggest a series of steps including building up of adequate transport infrastructure, setting up of parking bays and multi-storeyed parking lots. At present, a lot of vehicles are parked haphazardly on the roads leading to accidents.

Bangalore, they say, has suffered from neglect by successive governments and it is only now that the authorities have realised the need for flyovers, overpasses, underpasses and dedicated lanes. Once the Ring Road being constructed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is thrown open to traffic, trucks and other heavy vehicles will not have to crisscross the City. This is expected to lessen the congestion on the roads.

The completion of the truck terminus on the outskirts of the City will also help in easing traffic congestion. At present, truck drivers have no designated parking lot. It is only in the last two years that the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) has taken up construction of flyovers and grade separators on a war footing.

However, the road under the Sirsi Circle flyover is full of potholes and has been left untarred for years. The approach road to the flyover has not been properly maintained and this has caused accidents.

Besides, most of the roads in Bangalore are under repair. Bad roads are causing accidents. Added to this is the poor traffic management by the traffic police. Apart from declaring some roads as one-ways, they have done little to ease traffic congestion. There are no clearly marked zebra crossings on roads such as Lalbagh Road from Subbaiah Circle to Siddaiah Circle, J.C.Road and R.V.Road. At several places, the road dividers are not level with the road. This has lead to several fatal accidents and in places such as Minerva Circle, the divider stones have been removed, but the trenches have been left unfilled.

Experts opine that only better traffic management coupled with strict enforcement of rules and development of infrastructure will help bring down the accident rate. Incidentally, though a NIMHANS survey had identified the most dangerous accident spots in the City, nothing much has come out of it. Installation of traffic lights, building road humps, posting more policemen and enforcing speed restrictions in accident-prone areas will help in curbing reckless driving.

A comprehensive traffic management programme with the participation of the medical fraternity, civic authorities, police and non-governmental organisations is needed if Bangalore is to be rid of the tag of being a City of accidents.

Since chances of survival in cases of brain damage are almost, doctors say that helmets must be made compulsory for two-wheeler riders. Apart from this, they also advocate better traffic management, writes B.S.RAMESH.

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