74% pillion riders refuse to wear helmets: Survey

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 17

Over half of Indian two-wheeler riders (57 per cent) admit to not wearing a helmet when on the road while a higher number of pillion riders (74 per cent) neglect to wear one.

What worse is that 24 per cent of parents would allow their children to ride  helmetless at a time when comfort and habit seem to overrule concerns over safety.

These are the findings of a nationwide survey conducted in 10 cities to understand the perception of riders and pillion riders on the usage of helmets. The survey was done by Exide Life Insurance as a part of its CSR initiative during October to November this year.

According to the survey, riders' decision to go helmetless is attributable to many reasons, with nearly a third (29 per cent) admitting to riding without a helmet for comfort followed by 22 per cent preferring to ride bare-headed bound by habit while 16 per cent due to the notion that law doesn't make it mandatory and 13 per cent avoiding purchasing one due to its cost.

The survey found that 23 per cent of respondents believe that the pillion rider actually faces less risk than the rider of two-wheeler. Nearly a quarter of riders would allow a pillion rider without a helmet, and an equal proportion of pillion riders admit that they would accept such a lift, helmetless, if they were offered.

The aim of the survey is said to highlight the issues of road safety across India. "Two-wheelers remain one of the most unsafe modes of transport; wearing an appropriate helmet improves riders' chances of surviving an accident by 42 per cent and helps avoid up to 69 per cent of injuries to riders," stated the survey.