Where sinkholes and inundated roads had already raised the level of risk posed to commuters, the failure of the provincial government to effectively enforce the use of helmets, has spiked the number of registered challans.
As per records obtained by The Express Tribune, the City Traffic Police has issued challans to 1,125,000 motorcycle riders without helmets in just 3 months in Lahore, with 500,000 bikers issued a challan in the past 1 month only. Furthermore, 83,222 motorcycles were confiscated and the registration of 260,660 other motorcycles was cancelled on similar grounds.
The penalties were imposed when the Punjab government, after 18 years, decided to re-enforce the requirement for motorcyclists to follow safety regulations by properly wearing helmets and started fining those who were either without a helmet, kept the helmet on the tank, held it in their hand, or were underage.
“The government must enforce the usage of helmets since motor accidents can be seriously fatal for bikers who can succumb to head injuries,” said Dr Altaf Ahmed Yar, a specialist in Internal Medicine, who went on to add that head injuries could also occur due to the usage of substandard helmets.
“Therefore, the government must ensure that standardised helmets are available for all bikers so that regulating road safety is easier and the probability of road accidents is also lowered,” opined Dr Yar.
Dr Yar’s concerns hold credibility as data obtained by The Express Tribune indicates that more than 14,000 accidents occurred this year out of which more than 600 involved severe head injury cases due to absence of protective gear like helmets.
However, much to the surprise of the traffic regulatory authorities the high ratio of motor accidents has not deterred bikers from violating the helmet policy since many argue that purchasing a costly helmet has exceeded their limit of affordability given the current economic downslide.
“A good quality helmet costs as much as Rs 5,000. How can we afford the extra expenditure on safety gear when even fuel has become unimaginably expensive?” complained Faisal Mehmood Khan, a resident of the Muhammad Nagar neighbourhood, who further added that he had received two challans worth Rs 2,000 each from the City Traffic Police for not wearing a helmet.
Concurring with Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed Lodhi, a resident of Gulberg also felt that the rising rate of crime in the city was forcing bikers to leave their helmets at home in order to prevent it from being stolen. “How can a poor person spend Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 purchasing a new helmet every week?” challenged Lodhi, who went on to request the government to pass legislation which mandates the seller of a motorbike to include a complementary helmet with the vehicle.
According to Salman Abid, a civil rights activist, the government must compel helmet manufacturers to sell helmets of a standardised quality to bikers at low costs in order to promote the usage of helmets and simultaneously curb the challan charges which add an unwarranted financial burden on the citizens.
Speaking to The Express Tribune on the matter, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Lahore Mustansar Feroze said, “the purpose of the challan is to ensure the safety of bikers and no one including state officials is exempted from the policy. Apart from issuing challans we also counsel the violating bikers on the importance of wearing helmets.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2023.
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