Buddy, helmet...........!!!!!!!!!! Else, hell, mate!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank goodness! After having toyed with the notion of making helmets mandatory, for ages, TN govt. has finally decided to induct the “ride with helmet” rule across the TN state in a phased manner. It is definitely something to heave a sigh of relief on as the grave reality has at last dawned on the senses of the govt. given the string of gory accidents, which has been ringing alarm bells all these years only for the corridors of power to turn a deaf ear to the wails. Who should we cast the blame upon for the delay? Is it the govt. which shelved this rule for eternity or the intransigent commuters who literally flee the scene when it comes to wearing helmets? Let’s contemplate.
Firstly, let’s discuss the obstinate commuters. It’s an open fact that helmets and commuters are an incongruous pairing in Chennai or any other city for that matter where a stern rule is not in place. Being a Chennai-ite myself and a dyed-in-the-wool bike enthusiast, I must mention that I have had a ring side seat when it comes to learning the hassles endured by them in wearing a helmet not to mention that I wear it at any cost albeit braving the about-to-be mentioned pitfalls. Adding to the usual excuses, Chennai is the epitome of typical Indian summer and this immediately rules out the possibility of making helmets mandatory.
Let me first zero in on the excuses made by people for dispensing with helmets, which are, to some extent, legitimate. Owing to scorching heat, the head inside the helmet has a greater chance of sweating and eventually getting drenched in it completely thereby leading to foul odour and hair-loss. We all know hair-loss is a nightmare for all and sundry. With helmets put on, the field of vision gets obstructed or limited, which again, is quite true. One also faces a brief hearing deterioration as the ears are almost shut, which can diminish the probability of hearing the horn-tooting vehicles and siren-blaring ambulances. Finally, all bikers are posers and would want to show off and look good without helmet, exposing their visage to the PYTs on road. Suppose, the rule gets enforced and helmets are made mandatory, I surmise, this would spawn a zillion new problems, finding and ironing out of which, would be Herculean task.
In spite of the hue and cry raised against helmets, if this rule gets imposed, we’ll have to face the music in the following imperceptible form. The rider may cough up a lump-sum in buying a helmet which doesn’t fit him snugly and might forget to fasten the chin straps up after wearing it, which again, is synonymous with going on a suicidal mission. Just for the heck of donning a helmet and escaping the clutches of extorting agents, oops… cops, one would knowingly or unknowingly settle for a low-quality, uncertified helmet, which in turn hangs the life of the rider in peril.
Roadside hawkers are a rage as they will jump at this golden opportunity and can pull a fast one on ignorant commuters by luring them into buying the spurious helmets, just for the heck of earning a quick buck. Believe me; they certainly have the gift of the gab to do it. With a tinted visor at night, the vision would be far from clear and can lead to many spills and close calls. With these entire intangible rule-flouting in place, which is just the tip of the ice-berg, with more to follow, we’ll have to end up championing a lost cause, if the rule gets imposed bluntly. This makes one thing clear that “rule enforcement” would turn out to be a bitter pill for the commuters to swallow, which has long been its besetting sin. This forces us to scratch our heads in devising a plan palatable to both govt. and commuters and which would ensure that helmets are worn religiously and with steadfast resolution.
After having expended our energy in learning the flip side of helmet-rule enforcement the hard way, let us try to invent some clever way of dealing this rather delicate situation. With bikes burgeoning like crazy in the market and roads getting narrower and more congested, the chances of accidents soars sky-high. This looming threat of helmet-free rides and wearing improper helmets can be tided over by having a two-pronged approach in place. Firstly, raise awareness amongst the commuters on “Importance of helmets”. This would draw educated and level-headed people. Secondly, a last ditch attempt needs to be launched in selling the helmets based on style factors, features and comfort and this attempt would appeal mainly to the snobs who are brought up and weaned in expensive creature comforts.
Apart from taking stringent action on those shirking from wearing one, they must be enlightened on the aftermath of an accident with and without helmet. Some work-shops by renowned bike-groups ( FYI, I hail from Korrupt Ryderz, Chennai :-)) can be put to good use in making people realize how helmets can turn up trumps at crisis. In order to leave a lasting imprint in the minds of commuters, heart-rending pictures of real life accidents, which could, at times, be nauseating, can be resorted to. After all, instilling fear is the key many a time in achieving something out of benign intent. The going rates of the helmets need to be slashed so that it is made easier on the wallet procure. Offering discounts when more than a helmet is bought and giving away freebies can also help. While only a modicum of points can be thought in explaining the importance of wearing helmets, a lot more can go in the form of style, technology and features in achieving the same.
Markets and countries, which have learnt the tricks of the helmet trade, can help other countries in bringing home the bacon. For instance, helmets with ducts and vents can alleviate the sweating issue. Air-conditioned helmets are also up for grabs. Ready made options to switch between plain and tinted visors can come in handy while riding during broad daylight and during wee hours. Helmets offering better field of vision with vents near ears can also eclipse visual/hearing hassles cited. As people are loath to buying plain-Jane designs, embossing Rossi/Schumy/Ferrari/McLaren effigies with jazzy hues which are akin to international standards can go down a bomb with buyers. Star-studded campaigns in propagating the same can ensure that it ain’t a botched mission. Helmet companies should kick start a custom of bringing family oriented helmet set (right from the notorious kid to the responsible missus) to the stores. To resolve the nagging problem of carrying helmets when the bike is parked at a lot, making helmet locks as stock fitment on the bikes can do us a world of good.
Adding to the slew of advantages what a helmet-donned ride has at its disposal, it keeps ominous exhaust spurts at bay, shoos swarming flies away, protects us from punishing sun beams (in case of a tinted visor) and does hell of a lot more. In spite of all the odds stacked against implementing this rule, govt. must take strenuous efforts in going the whole hog of persuading commuters in wearing one dutifully by spurring the narrated points into action tactfully instead of just inducting it. The underlying theme of this article is to make bike/helmet/rider combo indispensable by displaying the facts and injecting the oomph factor into the custom of helmet-donning. Helmet-buy should also be made a formality along with road tax, insurance and stuff when a new vehicle is bought. The OTR of any vehicle should be inclusive of an ISI certified helmet. This might sound like a quixotic project but we are in dire need of this rule ‘cause we ain’t Lord Ganesha to get blessed with a second head in case of accident.
~Rodeobiker
Firstly, let’s discuss the obstinate commuters. It’s an open fact that helmets and commuters are an incongruous pairing in Chennai or any other city for that matter where a stern rule is not in place. Being a Chennai-ite myself and a dyed-in-the-wool bike enthusiast, I must mention that I have had a ring side seat when it comes to learning the hassles endured by them in wearing a helmet not to mention that I wear it at any cost albeit braving the about-to-be mentioned pitfalls. Adding to the usual excuses, Chennai is the epitome of typical Indian summer and this immediately rules out the possibility of making helmets mandatory.
Let me first zero in on the excuses made by people for dispensing with helmets, which are, to some extent, legitimate. Owing to scorching heat, the head inside the helmet has a greater chance of sweating and eventually getting drenched in it completely thereby leading to foul odour and hair-loss. We all know hair-loss is a nightmare for all and sundry. With helmets put on, the field of vision gets obstructed or limited, which again, is quite true. One also faces a brief hearing deterioration as the ears are almost shut, which can diminish the probability of hearing the horn-tooting vehicles and siren-blaring ambulances. Finally, all bikers are posers and would want to show off and look good without helmet, exposing their visage to the PYTs on road. Suppose, the rule gets enforced and helmets are made mandatory, I surmise, this would spawn a zillion new problems, finding and ironing out of which, would be Herculean task.
In spite of the hue and cry raised against helmets, if this rule gets imposed, we’ll have to face the music in the following imperceptible form. The rider may cough up a lump-sum in buying a helmet which doesn’t fit him snugly and might forget to fasten the chin straps up after wearing it, which again, is synonymous with going on a suicidal mission. Just for the heck of donning a helmet and escaping the clutches of extorting agents, oops… cops, one would knowingly or unknowingly settle for a low-quality, uncertified helmet, which in turn hangs the life of the rider in peril.
Roadside hawkers are a rage as they will jump at this golden opportunity and can pull a fast one on ignorant commuters by luring them into buying the spurious helmets, just for the heck of earning a quick buck. Believe me; they certainly have the gift of the gab to do it. With a tinted visor at night, the vision would be far from clear and can lead to many spills and close calls. With these entire intangible rule-flouting in place, which is just the tip of the ice-berg, with more to follow, we’ll have to end up championing a lost cause, if the rule gets imposed bluntly. This makes one thing clear that “rule enforcement” would turn out to be a bitter pill for the commuters to swallow, which has long been its besetting sin. This forces us to scratch our heads in devising a plan palatable to both govt. and commuters and which would ensure that helmets are worn religiously and with steadfast resolution.
After having expended our energy in learning the flip side of helmet-rule enforcement the hard way, let us try to invent some clever way of dealing this rather delicate situation. With bikes burgeoning like crazy in the market and roads getting narrower and more congested, the chances of accidents soars sky-high. This looming threat of helmet-free rides and wearing improper helmets can be tided over by having a two-pronged approach in place. Firstly, raise awareness amongst the commuters on “Importance of helmets”. This would draw educated and level-headed people. Secondly, a last ditch attempt needs to be launched in selling the helmets based on style factors, features and comfort and this attempt would appeal mainly to the snobs who are brought up and weaned in expensive creature comforts.
Apart from taking stringent action on those shirking from wearing one, they must be enlightened on the aftermath of an accident with and without helmet. Some work-shops by renowned bike-groups ( FYI, I hail from Korrupt Ryderz, Chennai :-)) can be put to good use in making people realize how helmets can turn up trumps at crisis. In order to leave a lasting imprint in the minds of commuters, heart-rending pictures of real life accidents, which could, at times, be nauseating, can be resorted to. After all, instilling fear is the key many a time in achieving something out of benign intent. The going rates of the helmets need to be slashed so that it is made easier on the wallet procure. Offering discounts when more than a helmet is bought and giving away freebies can also help. While only a modicum of points can be thought in explaining the importance of wearing helmets, a lot more can go in the form of style, technology and features in achieving the same.
Markets and countries, which have learnt the tricks of the helmet trade, can help other countries in bringing home the bacon. For instance, helmets with ducts and vents can alleviate the sweating issue. Air-conditioned helmets are also up for grabs. Ready made options to switch between plain and tinted visors can come in handy while riding during broad daylight and during wee hours. Helmets offering better field of vision with vents near ears can also eclipse visual/hearing hassles cited. As people are loath to buying plain-Jane designs, embossing Rossi/Schumy/Ferrari/McLaren effigies with jazzy hues which are akin to international standards can go down a bomb with buyers. Star-studded campaigns in propagating the same can ensure that it ain’t a botched mission. Helmet companies should kick start a custom of bringing family oriented helmet set (right from the notorious kid to the responsible missus) to the stores. To resolve the nagging problem of carrying helmets when the bike is parked at a lot, making helmet locks as stock fitment on the bikes can do us a world of good.
Adding to the slew of advantages what a helmet-donned ride has at its disposal, it keeps ominous exhaust spurts at bay, shoos swarming flies away, protects us from punishing sun beams (in case of a tinted visor) and does hell of a lot more. In spite of all the odds stacked against implementing this rule, govt. must take strenuous efforts in going the whole hog of persuading commuters in wearing one dutifully by spurring the narrated points into action tactfully instead of just inducting it. The underlying theme of this article is to make bike/helmet/rider combo indispensable by displaying the facts and injecting the oomph factor into the custom of helmet-donning. Helmet-buy should also be made a formality along with road tax, insurance and stuff when a new vehicle is bought. The OTR of any vehicle should be inclusive of an ISI certified helmet. This might sound like a quixotic project but we are in dire need of this rule ‘cause we ain’t Lord Ganesha to get blessed with a second head in case of accident.
~Rodeobiker
posted by Rodeobiker at 4:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home