Date:20/04/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/04/20/stories/2005042002361008.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Timely call

Dr. K. Ganapathy's call for legislation to make wearing of crash helmets by two-wheeler riders compulsory (April 16) is timely. This demand had been made several times in the last two decades to no avail. Now it has become an emergency. The doctor rightly points to the loss of young people in the prime of their lives due to head injury. There is also the associated morbidity involving vital organs, bones and facial structures, and the months of hospitalisation needed to bring a person back to normal life.

Mythili Krishnamurthy,
Tiruchi, T.N.

Cyclists and motorcyclists in the West wear helmets and also stick to the lanes allotted to them. In India, motorcyclists and cyclists overtaking other vehicles at will, jump signals with impunity, switch lanes without a care, and generally violate every single rule. How can accidents be prevented in such a situation?

Jayaraman. K,
Chennai