KOCHI: If you plan to buy a bike, you will not only need all necessary documents but also a helmet to complete the registration process. Motor vehicles department (MVD) has made helmetsmandatory to register motorcycles from February 1. MVD has asked dealers to provide helmets to the buyer at the time of purchase.
"According to Central Motor Vehicles Rules, helmet is part of the vehicle and so a dealer should give it to the customer for free. We will register a motorcycle only if the owner brings his helmet. We have contacted most dealers in Kochi and they have responded in a positive manner," said Ernakulam RTO B J Antony.
"We are already stressing the advantages of wearing a helmet in our pre-licence classes. We will use such classes to create awareness among candidates on the law which makes it mandatory for the dealer to provide helmet to the buyer free of cost," he said. The law will be enforced within the limits of Ernakulam RT office and sub-RT offices at Mattancherry, Tripunithura, Aluva, Angamaly and North Paravoor. MVD officials admitted that around 90% bike owners wear helmet, but the numbers decrease in the interior parts of the district. "Strict enforcement and proper checking will prompt motorcyclists to use helmets," Antony said.
Legal experts are of the view that the law should be implemented all across the state.
"This is a good decision The law should be uniformly implemented since the high court verdict is applicable to one and all," said lawyer and RTI activist D B Binu, adding that in certain countries, helmet is mandatory for filling fuel.
"Strict enforcement of the law regarding helmet has reduced the number of deaths in two-wheeler accidents," he said.
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