[funkykar]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

So according to you does one need a helmet only if one hit speeds upto 50 KMPH?

...

Mate, this is what i feel and take decisions for myself and was a specific reply i made to Mayank. This is my opinion about my rides. I have not said on behalf of you or others.


About cricket scenario i think you dint get it. Many batsmen wear when fast bowler is bowling and take it off when spinner is bowling. Would they like it if ICC made it mandatory for batsmen to wear helmet all the time? Thats what i too described as i would want to do.

My take remains same, leave it to the rider and don't force, but educate. If forced, i would wear(at times my 100rs helmet) without choice like am doing now. If Karnataka changes rule like GJ, i will do as described above.

[Jude300]

I don't understand what these maniacs are thinking. Do they really have any sense of what they are doing?

Wearing helmet was never implemented properly. In most places there is suddenly a campaign by the police and people flock road side shops for what they call helmet and in a few days it's the same.

Things have come to a point that the law makers have the gut to blurt out such rubbish and our people love them for that.

Like many others I have also had personal experience where helmet saved my life and my wife's who was rinding pillion. We both hit our heads on the ground but the helmet saved us.

[funkykar]

Originally Posted by Jude300

I don't understand what these maniacs are thinking. Do they really have any sense of what they are doing?

Wearing helmet was never implemented properly. In most places there is suddenly a campaign by the police and people flock road side shops for what they call helmet and in a few days it's the same.

Things have come to a point that the law makers have the gut to blurt out such rubbish and our people love them for that.

Like many others I have also had personal experience where helmet saved my life and my wife's who was riding pillion. We both hit our heads on the ground but the helmet saved us.

Well said. I think some of the issues arise only due to poor policing. Police is interested to see a 2 wheeler as whether he can be fined or not. They dont seem to care about their safety.

Hence, people who dont want to wear helmet and wear only to evade cops resort to the 100rs helmets.

From all the traffic I see in Bangalore, my guesstimate is:
- Roughly 30-50% wear the low quality good for nothing helmet.
- 60-90% of pillions wear the low quality good for nothing helmets.

And I will admit, I too wear the 100rs helmet at time when I feel not necessary.

End of the day, people who care about safety ANYWAY wear helmet whether rule is there or not. The rest can be converted to wear good quality helmet (Rule is there or not, doesn't matter) by the gyaan, awareness and education.

And I have to take all the bashing and rhetoric from everyone for being honest and voicing how I think and how I weigh my risks for rides that may comprise of 0.1% of my total rides+drives

[condor]

Originally Posted by funkykar

The rest can be converted to wear good quality helmet (Rule is there or not, doesn't matter) by the gyaan, awareness and education.

@Funkykar - I say your post is spot-on and says exactly what is happening on the roads - definitely Bangalore. I dont think other cities are far behind.

Only point I dont agree fully is the above - Most of those who dont wear good helmets will Not be convinced for the need of a good helmet.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by funkykar

When did i mention falling down wont hurt? I know from my experience at what circumstances having a fall probability is higher and would choose to wear helmet. I know how to weigh the risks is what i am saying....

It's pretty obvious that your mind's made up, so one can only hope your risk assessment never fails you, esp. not in the presence of those relying on your judgment to keep them safe.

[funkykar]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

It's pretty obvious that your mind's made up, so one can only hope your risk assessment never fails you, esp. not in the presence of those relying on your judgment to keep them safe.

Yes, sure. I feel, for me, crossing some of the busy roads after parking bike/car to be more risky than need of wearing helmet for examples i cited earlier.

To be honest, all of us in our family are in agreement on this. My dad, myself, my mom and many others in the extended family. Its definitely not that i bypass their trust.


And yes, all are educated, have driven quite extensive and seen accidents where lives are lost and fully understand what a helmet is and how useful it is. Yet, for some examples like a corner grocery store, we wouldnt want to wear. I again stress, it might be a very miniscule % time or total time we ride as a whole that we absolutely dont want to wear a helmet.

[NiInJa]

Like they say: It all works fine until one day it does not.

I will close my argument saying that Gujarat's new rule is stupid as it kills the very purpose why helmets are to be made compulsory. In city like Pune, where nobody knows where Municipal limits start or end, it would be a complete mess. I have read about young men dying just a few meters outside of their house when they were heading out for some groceries or having a hair-cut. I myself have experienced how life saving a helmet is when a huge branch of tree fell on my head while standing at the signal.

Not all of us Indians are educated, some people are unreasonable, others are too adamant to not wear helmet for some stupid reasons like messing up their hairstyles, sweat etc. For them, there has to be a rule in place, the government has to take a stand. I don't support the idea of selective use of helmet. If there is speed and motion involved, helmet must be worn, its as simple as that. Its fine if someone breaks the rule, but its not fine to remove the rule altogether.

[Jude300]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Like they say: It all works fine until one day it does not.

I have read about young men dying just a few meters outside of their house when they were heading out for some groceries or having a hair-cut.

Not all of us Indians are educated, some people are unreasonable, others are too adamant to not wear helmet for some stupid reasons like messing up their hairstyles, sweat etc. For them, there has to be a rule in place, the government has to take a stand.

The above sums it up well. I used to think I am a good driver until that day when a lady with no license carrying her school kid, took a nearly perpendicular turn from left side of the road to the right. I was driving at less than 50kmph, did a hard breaking that brought my bike to stall but in the inertia me and my wife were thrown out and were lying in the middle of the road. Fortunately there was no heavy vehicle behind us and the lady and the kid escaped unhurt as I didn't hit them hard. We survived with minor injuries, a damaged helmet and torn jacket. But hadn't we worn helmet that day may be we wouldn't have survived as the impact was quite hard. All this happened as we just started back from our breakfast ride to Pondicherry.

That was an eye opener and lesson for me that no matter how good you are, there are more idiots on the road than you think. And thier count keeps increasing day by day and our law enforcers encourage them.

May be off topic, yesterday a traffic police was stopping traffic to allow vehicles riding on the wrong side (to avoid a longer u turn). I was appalled seeing it. Instead of issuing a challan he was facilitating them. Don't know where this country is heading to.

[the_joker]

I didn't witness this, I was told by some friends. There was an accident less than 50 mtrs from my house. This is interior road, so the speeds are low (~20 - 30 kmph). Due to some confusion at a junction, two riders got into a crash. One guy hit his head, and passed away after a couple of weeks on life support. It seems there weren't any scratches on him at all. He just fell down from his bike and hit his head. Unfortunately, it was at a wrong angle. The speeds don't matter at all for head injuries. It matters only for external injuries such as road rash. Wear your helmet even if you are going to your neighborhood store.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Like they say: It all works fine until one day it does not.

+1 to this mate. I have seen and experienced many people learning after they make a mistake, albeit some unlucky ones didn't get a second chance.

Not all of us Indians are educated, some people are unreasonable, others are too adamant to not wear helmet for some stupid reasons like messing up their hairstyles, sweat etc. For them, there has to be a rule in place, the government has to take a stand. I don't support the idea of selective use of helmet. If there is speed and motion involved, helmet must be worn, its as simple as that. Its fine if someone breaks the rule, but its not fine to remove the rule altogether.

+1 again mate. A rule is a rule and we as law abiding citizens are supposed to follow them whether it inconveniences us or not. Imagine if people start bending rules selectively or as per their convenience or bypassing them altogether.

For example: It is prohibited not to spit tobacco at public properties like Airport, Railway Stations, etc. Someone comes up and says, "Hey I love chewing tobacco and will spit when nobody's watching. Another example: As per rule one is not supposed to eat and drink inside metro railways as it leads to dirty floors, smelly cabin, etc. but someone says, "Hey I can't control my hunger and will eat and drink without spilling a drop or piece of food." Imagine this happening in all walks of life where people don't follow the rules or even if they do it is for hoodwinking the authorities. It will be a chaotic situation.

Originally Posted by funkykar

Mate, this is what i feel and take decisions for myself and was a specific reply i made to Mayank. This is my opinion about my rides. I have not said on behalf of you or others.

Mate, truly your anticipation skills of foreseeing and being sure about being on road and be unharmed while being 100% certain about not facing any hazard while wearing a 100 rupee helmet or riding helmet-less is commendable.

About cricket scenario i think you dint get it. Many batsmen wear when fast bowler is bowling and take it off when spinner is bowling. Would they like it if ICC made it mandatory for batsmen to wear helmet all the time? Thats what i too described as i would want to do.

OK let's switch gears here, think of a good quality certified helmet as an abdominal guard. The batsmen have to wear it as long as they are on the batting pitch. Whether ICC has made it a rule or not, the batsmen have to wear it irrespective of whether it is enforced or not for their own personal safety.

You have also conveniently chose to ignore my other questions mate. Never mind.

My take remains same, leave it to the rider and don't force, but educate. If forced, i would wear(at times my 100rs helmet) without choice like am doing now. If Karnataka changes rule like GJ, i will do as described above.

Rules when not followed by citizens needs to be enforced mate. You say don't force but educate eh! Did you know education also happens with people observing what others are doing. It is one of the many ways of educating people without uttering a word. For example: In my office cab nobody except the driver and myself seated at the back used to wear a seat belt. After observing me the fellow passengers also started buckling up and this is without me telling them, they did it while observing me. Similarly my 5 year old nephew wears a helmet inside his bungalow compound while riding bicycle. He has observed me and his dad who are always wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle.

I remember one ad jingle that comes on our beloved DD National channel about Helmet Safety. The protagonist see a similar situation where a wheeler rider wears a sub-standard low quality 100 rupee helmet without even strapping it, while another rider is keeping a helmet stationary on his RVM,s instead of his head. As soon as the rider's spot a cop they hurriedly strap on the helmet. The protagonist comes up on screen and tells the audience, "Traffic Police se na bache, Apne aap ko bachayein" In English, "Don't save yourselves from cops, rather save your lives."

[funkykar]

I have made several points that I feel appropriate with necessary personal scenarios. I am not able to comment/counter each of the replies and points due to lack of time.

Either take the point it or leave it (applies for me also for your responses). Anything beyond this, we (including me) are being keyboard warriors.

Hope some common sense prevails with the governments and make it best for the citizens including enforcing it correctly. If not, we will continue to see 100rs useless helmets being worn as they are forced to wear as a rule.

I rest my case and will unsubscribe from notifications from this thread.