Don’t like to wear a Helmet!!!

The most common reasons given by people (while riding motorcycle, scooter or cycles) for not wearing a helmet

Reason	Male	Female
It is very hot and the helmet makes my head hotter	ü
Wearing the helmet makes me sweat a lot and that in turn damages my hair	ü	ü
I cannot my maintain my hair style	ü	ü
I ride very carefully and have never met with an accident	ü	ü
My religion does not allow me to wear any such thing (helmet)		ü
My religious headgear is enough to save my head	ü
There is no police checking in this route	ü
Nowadays the police are too busy with other work so they have relaxed checking on riders not wearing helmets	ü

Now let me tell you the most ridiculous (maybe somewhat original) reason I have ever heard (from a friend of mine).

With Helmet (sequence of events)	No Helmet (sequence of events)
Rider meets with a severe accident Major parts of his body injured He survives because he wore a helmet He now has to suffer the pain He may get into a coma He is left handicapped or dependent on others for the rest of his life.	Rider meets with a severe accident He dies instantly because he did not wear a helmet No handicap or dependency on other people

Well it’s no point countering his arguments because he is just giving his sarcastic and contrarian view to justify his personal views and win some laughter among his friends. But I can put in some counter arguments to the first list

Reason	Counter arguments
It is very hot and the helmet makes my head hotter	Your life is more precious than your hair
Wearing the helmet makes me sweat a lot and that in turn damages my hair
I cannot my maintain my hair style
I ride very carefully and have never met with an accident	I hope you never meet with one and am proud of your driving skills.  But most accidents occur due to other idiot drivers.  Apart from that any collision between two moving vehicles travelling at the speed of 30 km/ph can result in fatality.
My religion does not allow me to wear any such thing (helmet)	Your god obviously wants you to live a safe and long life
My religious headgear is enough to save my head
There is no police checking in this route	Ride your luck till it lasts!!!!!
Nowadays the police are too busy with other work so they have relaxed checking on riders not wearing helmets

Do let me know about other reasons that you may have or may have heard from others for not wearing helmets

Take a look at the picture below to understand a helmet and how it saves the wearer's head

image source: vega helmets (facebook page)

Now let us have a look at the type of helmets available in India and their feasibility

Helmet Image	Helmet Type	ISI Marked	Does it save your head (life) during an accident
	Open Face	ü	Yes, to a large extent.  (But you may get a broken chin or jaw if you fall face first)
	Full Face	ü	Yes, most definitely.  It’s the only type that will provide the most safety
	Ladies/ Sporty	û	May be it’s a joke or a just a marketing gimmick
	Novelty	û	No one has survived to tell the tale
	Helmets for Cyclists	Not known	Yes for Cyclists

Legal provisions regarding use of Helmets - 

Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 states about Helmets in the following words

Wearing of protective headgear. - Every person driving or riding (otherwise than in a side car, on a motor cycle of any class or description) shall, while in a public place, wear 76[protective headgear conforming to the standards of Bureau of Indian Standards:] provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to a person who is a Sikh, if he is, while driving or riding on the motor cycle, in a public place, wearing a turban : provided further that the State Government may, by such rules, provide for such exceptions as it may think fit.

Explanation. – “Protective headgear” means a helmet which, -

(a)    by virtue of its shape, material and construction, could reasonably be expected to afford to the person driving or riding on a motor cycle a degree of protection from injury in the event of an accident; and

(b)   is securely fastened to the head of the wearer by means of straps or other fastenings provided on the headgear.

Corresponding Law. – Section 129 corresponds to section 85 – A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939.

Objects and Reasons. – Clause 129 empowers the State Government to prescribe protective headgear to be worn by the drivers or pillion riders of motor cycle other than a person who is a Sikh wearing a turban and to make such exemption as the State Government thinks fit.

The Assam MotorVehicle Rules 2003 (section 96) does not mention the word helmet but describes about headgear in the following words

Protective headgears :

1.       A protective headgear referred to in Section 129 of the Act, shall be one which has been approved by the Bureau of Indian Standard vide No. ISI-41551-1974.

2.       Each protective headgear shall be permanently labeled at its outer surface with a legibly written Label containing the following particulars

(a)    Manufacturer’s name and identification;

(b)   Size of the headgear;

(c)    Year of manufacture;

(d)   The mark of the Bureau of Indian Standard.

3.       Each protective headgear shall have on its back side three reflective red coloured stripes, each 2 cm. x 13 cm. in size, affixed horizontally and capable of being illuminated at the light of other vehicle from behind during the night time.

4.       Each headgear shall have adequate provision for air-vent so as to provide comfort to the user and adequate earvent for facilitating the clear hearing of sound and horn of other motor vehicle.

I have no idea why the Assam Motor Vehicles Rules 2003 specifies that the BIS standards for safety helmets are IS-41551-1974 when the current specifications are IS-4151 (latest revision was in 2013) and all the ISI marked helmets are specified as such.

It happens in Assam

• In 2009 Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma rode without wearing a helmet during an election rally and when asked about it said casually – ‘I know god will protect me’. So much for leaders leading their people.
• Assam traffic police has taken some measures to encourage two wheeler drivers who wear helmets while riding (photo below). Though the intent was good the measures do not seem to result in the desired outcome i.e. to decrease fatalities among two wheeler drivers. The reason simply being that no one seems to know which are the proper type of helmets that will save human lives during an accident.

Assam Police distributing candy to helmet wearers. Just look at the 'helmet' that the person is wearing

Suggestions to Assam Police -

Assam Police website does not have proper information on wearing helmets or protective headgear. They just inform that it is necessary for two wheeler drivers to wear one and have just mentioned the legal provisions.

Assam police can take a cue from Delhi Police and Chandigarh Traffic Police

They need to create more awareness and they can do it by some of the most common and popular ways like–

·         Posters and Hoardings

·         Internet - Websites, Social media pages

·         TV, Newspapers and Magazines

One important psychological aspect of human beings they need to understand is that people like to be told specifically what to do what not to do. Very few people like to read and understand long legal acts, sections and their interpretations. And the best ways to do is through proper pictures/images.

Apart from that each and every citizen has also the obligation to understand and obey the law. If you do not obey the law then stop complaining about others not obeying.

You can consider looking up the following links for more information on helmets-

1. Use of Helmets as a Strategy for Preventing Head Injuries Caused by Bicycle or Motorcycle Crash or Fall 
2. Helmet use saves lives
3. Ensuring helmet quality an uphill task
4. Indian Helmet manufacturers have claimed that 85% of used by riders in India are unsafe
5. IS 4151 (1993): Specification for protective helmets for scooter and motorcycle riders
6. IS:4151 Standards in India for Protective Helmets for two wheeler riders Specification(Fourth Revision of IS 4151) 

Disclaimer

• Kindly note that I do not have copyright on any of the images/pictures used.
• The reasons mentioned for not wearing helmet were complied by discussing with my friends and are not the result of any scientifically conducted survey.