E-Paper
Action against govt staff not wearing helmets while on two-wheelers: Pune div commissioner
The road safety committee constituted by the Supreme Court under the chairmanship of justice Abhay Sapre recently concluded a meeting at Vidhan Bhavan, Pune, regarding measures to be taken to reduce road accidents and accident-related deaths in Pune (city, district and division)
Pune divisional commissioner, Chandrakant Pulkundwar, has published a circular instructing the concerned authorities to take punitive action against all those government officers and employees who fail to wear helmets while riding as well as sitting on the back of two-wheelers and record the action in their original service book.
The circular states, “According to section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act 1988 and as per the directions issued by the High Court and Supreme Court from time to time, it is mandatory for the rider of a two-wheeler as well as the person sitting on the back of a two-wheeler to wear a helmet. It is the duty of every government officer and employee to follow the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act (helmet mandatory).”
“Sub-rule 18 and section 19 of rule 3(1) of the Maharashtra Civil Services 1989 (Discipline and Appeal) state that government officers and employees will not act in any manner which is or may be contrary to any law, rule, regulation or established custom. The provision is binding on all that they maintain discipline in the performance of their duties and are responsible for obeying the legal orders duly communicated to them,” the circular states.
“The number of deaths in accidents involving two-wheelers is significant. It was pointed out that the use of helmets by bike riders can definitely reduce the number of deaths in such accidents. Taking cognisance of this, the rider himself and the person sitting with him should use helmets that meet road safety standards. For this, the administration should make the use of helmets mandatory for two-wheeler riders and create public awareness about traffic rules,” the circular further states.
Pulkundwar said, “According to the provisions of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) against officers and employees who do not use helmets, the relevant head of office should take action for recovery of penalty through the disciplinary authority. It has also been clarified in the circular that action should be taken to record this in the original service book.”
“Keeping in mind the principle that life is precious and it is important to save every life, all the officers and employees should start with themselves in order to reduce road accidents and use helmets as precautionary measure,” he said.
The road safety committee constituted by the Supreme Court under the chairmanship of justice Abhay Sapre recently concluded a meeting at Vidhan Bhavan, Pune, regarding measures to be taken to reduce road accidents and accident-related deaths in Pune (city, district and division). In this meeting, serious concern was expressed about the increasing number of victims of accidents involving two-wheelers in Maharashtra and India.
