According to the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, riding without a helmet will attract Rs thousand fine & a 3-month suspension of the licence. The state had reduced the fine to Rs five hundred.
In Bengaluru, till September 2020 around 20.7L cases booked for Helmet-less rides. The Karnataka transport department has decided to suspend driving –license for 3 months if 2-wheeler rider is caught without a helmet.
According to Transport official report, Supreme Court appointed committee for Road Safety held a video conferencing on 14th October and recommended strict action against the violator’s. Transport Department official added that “Two-wheelers are more vulnerable to road accidents. They will have to pay fine & face a three-month driving license suspension in case of a violation.”At present driving license of drink and drive person is suspended for six months.
Karnataka has 1.6 crore registered two-wheelers & nearly 60 lakh of them are in Bengaluru. In 2018, the number of cases booked by Bengaluru Traffic Police against riders without helmet was 16.4 lakh, in 2019 it was 12.9 lakh and till September 2020 it was 12.5 lakh.
BR Ravikanthe Gowda, Bengaluru’s Joint Commissioner (Traffic) welcomed the move & said it’ll deter bikers from riding without a helmet & reduce the number of deaths caused by accidents. “This is a step towards making our roads safe for all,” he added.
