Two-wheeler riders, especially those riding pillion, shy away from wearing a helmet in the city. There is no mechanism to make pillion riders wear a helmet in Jammu.
The traffic police in Jammu may stop a biker not wearing a helmet and fine him Rs 100, but do not find any offence or risk if the pillion rider is not wearing a helmet.
It has become the culture in Jammu that the pillion riders never wear helmets and most of the people don’t even know that the pillion rider should also wear a helmet as it is for their own safety. The pillion rider is at the same risk that the driver is having while riding a bike.
“Helmet is compulsory for the driver of the two-wheeler, not for the pillion rider,” said Sonika Sharma, a pillion rider on a bike at Bikram Chowk.
“I have never seen any pillion rider wearing helmet in Jammu, accept Army personnel. The traffic police never stop any bike on which the pillion rider is not wearing a helmet,” she added.
The riders wear helmet not for their safety, but to avoid fine by the traffic police. Most of the riders wear helmet only when they see a traffic policeman standing on the road and remove it after crossing him.
A traffic policeman at one of the busiest crossing in Jammu said, “We do not have sufficient staff and resources to check all the traffic violations. To justify our job, we just have to collect a considerable amount as challans (fine).”
“People should be aware of the fact that wearing a helmet is for their own safety, and not just for avoiding fine imposed by the Traffic Department,” he added.
The higher authorities are also least bothered about the safety of the pillion riders.
“Firstly we are concentrating on the drivers only. We do not have any mechanism to check or fine pillion riders not wearing helmet,” said Mohan Lal Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Traffic, Jammu.
“We may consider checking pillion riders for not wearing helmet at a later stage,” he added.
