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Seven days to go: Helmet sales yet to pick pace, say Pune retailers
Important helmet selling outlets in the city have maintained that citizens are not keen on buying helmets as police action has slowed down. According to the shop owners, people had shown keen interest to buy when the crackdown had begun a month earlier but it was short lived
While on one hand, the date set by Pune police for enforcement of helmet rule is approaching closer, the helmet sale, which was picked up earlier this month in the city , has seen dip. The Pune Police Commissioner K Ventakesham, last month announced that the cops will go all out in enforcing the helmet rule in the city from Jan 1, while going ahead with limited action against those not wearing helmets.
Important helmet selling outlets in the city have maintained that citizens are not keen on buying helmets as police action has slowed down. According to the shop owners, people had shown keen interest to buy when the crackdown had begun a month earlier but it was short lived.
Sandeep Gupta, Director of Moto Central Helmet outlet in Nana Peth said that the sale is hardly between 10 to 15 percent at his outlet and inquiries have been going off and on “ We sell the best brands which are ISI mark branded and we suggest riders to wear the branded ones for their safety. We encourage citizens to inculcate amongst themselves a habit to permanently wear the helmets instead of wearing local ones for the fear of cops ,” he said.
According to police commissioner, the police were forced to go for implementation of helmet rule owing to high number of fatalities among two wheeler riders. Following the announcement, police event started cracking down against students and government staff in limited action.
Shravan Gupta of Tilak Automobile painted a grim picture and said that the sales were static and only inquiries have increased “ sales are not picking despite the announcement. It seems citizens are not keen to wear helmets ,” he said. Another shop owner lamented that sale has been down even as January 1 is coming closer. “ At the time when the cops took action, sales have gone up but now it is not there. People are only inquiring but not buying ,” said Ashwadhama Redekar who is the owner of Red Ash Design, a premium category helmet seller .
Say yes to helmets
December 6
The traffic branch fines 100 government officials for helmet less riding and recovered fines from them
November 21
The cops have asked petrol dealers not to sell petrol to those riders who come without helmets to their fuel stations
During 2018
In the first 10 months of 2018, the city has witnessed 314 two-wheeler, helmet-less fatal accidents, of which 136 deaths were of youth in age group of 18-35
2017
Pune has witnessed 175 deaths in 2017 and 140 in 2016, all pertaining to two-wheeler helmet- less riders on city roads.
Commissioners Announcement
Pune Police Commissioner has said that wearing a helmet while riding will be mandatory in Pune, from Jan 1 and anyone who violates the safety helmet law and caught riding without one in Pune will be fined or punished.
Earllier, in August 2016, Maharashtra's Transport Minister Diwakar Raote had announced the ‘No Helmet, No Petrol’ rule in the state and had put the onus on implementing it on the traffic department.
Raote had stated that the court had observed that Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — which mandates wearing a helmet — has been included in the Act as a preventive measure to prevent loss of life.
