From Oct 20, pillion riders in Vizag will also have to wear helmets

Pillion riders not wearing helmet will be fined ₹1,000

It’s not just two-wheeler riders but also the pillion riders will have to now mandatorily wear a helmet in Visakhapatnam city with effect from Oct 20.

District Collector A. Mallikarjuna directed the Police and Transport Departments to ensure compliance of the helmet rule for both the rider and the pillion rider at the recent district-level road safety meeting that was held recently. Deputy Transport Commissioner GC Raja Ratnam said that the District Collector had issued the orders as over 70 two-wheeler riders and those sitting behind, had lost their lives in the district from January to August this years.

Under Section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the pillion riders should also compulsorily wear a helmet. But, this rule has not been implemented, so far. Mr. Raja Ratnam said that officials of the Transport and Police Departments would conduct special drives from Oct 20 and impose a penalty of ₹1,000 on those violating the rule.

He said that the Transport Department has booked cases against 1,234 two-wheeler riders for violating the helmet rule and collected ₹12,43,000 as penalties during this year, so far. The DTC appealed to two-wheeler riders to wear a helmet for their own safety and cooperate with the enforcement authorities in preventing road accident fatalities.

The Transport Department has booked 493 cases on vehicles, which were overloaded with goods, beyond the permitted capacity, and ₹2.01 crore was collected as penalties from the vehicle operators. These checks were conducted between April 1 and August 31, 2022. The penalties collected for overloading was ₹20,000 and an additional ₹2,000 a tonne. The fines range between ₹24,000 and ₹1,00,000. The DTC warned transport operators against overloading of their vehicles.