The Mumbai Traffic Police on Thursday initiated their crackdown on helmetless pillion riders, 15 days after the notification was issued making it compulsory for them to wear helmets. More than 6000 offenders were penalised on the first day of the drive, and the action will continue in the days to come, officials said.
The Traffic Police had on May 25 notified Mumbaikars that, under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, wearing helmets was mandatory for those driving two wheelers as well as pillion riders, and that this would be strictly enforced from June 9. Accordingly, all Traffic Police personnel were instructed to start taking action against offenders from Thursday.
“On Thursday, action was taken against 2334 riders and 3421 pillion riders, while 516 cases were registered where neither of them were wearing helmets,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Raj Tilak Roushan, Mumbai Traffic Police.
According to official statistics released by the police, the highest number of cases were observed in areas like Kalbadevi, Byculla and Bhoiwada in south and central Mumbai.
The first day of the drive was met with a lot of resistance from the offenders, many of whom claimed to have been unaware of the rule.
A traffic police official on duty in Bandra said, "We have been catching the offenders since morning, and charging them with Rs 500 as fine, which they either have to pay in cash or online. We take the picture of their number plate and an e-challan gets generated online. Most of the offenders were blatantly denying knowledge of the new pillion helmet rule, although we have been announcing this continuously since May 25.”
Apart from widespread coverage of the move in news media over the last 15 days, the police themselves have also been issuing reminders through their official social media accounts.
Police station staff, too, have been instructed to assist the Traffic Police in their action.
"Although we have not yet received an official order asking us to penalise offenders, we know about the rule that comes into effect from Thursday. Consequently, we are stopping any offenders that we spot and warning them about it,” an officer from the Mahim police station said.
Although the drive is being enforced to the best of the police's capabities, the cops find their work curtailed due to a lack of manpower as well as the fact that many offenders choose to speed away despite being flagged down by a uniformed police officer. Following a string of incidents where on duty police personnel sustained injuries after being knocked down by vehicles trying to escape, instructions have been issued to all personnel to not put their lives and personal safety at risk while enforcing the rules.
Offenders, while agitated at the police's action, said that they had no other option but to follow the rule from now on. Many of them wished that the police let them go with a warning for their first offence.
An offender who was penalised near the Churchgate railway station on Thursday said, "After paying today's fine, I think local trains are always better to travel. Besides, I could have bought a helmet with the amount I paid for the fine.”
Number of cases
SOUTH MUMBAI: 2100
CENTRAL MUMBAI: 248
EASTERN MUMBAI: 564
WESTERN MUMBAI: 608
