Indus Valley Times

1,423 persons in Odisha were killed in 2019; 3,400 persons suffered injuries

By  Sukant Mohanty

BHUBANESWAR, DEC. 10: Upping its ante against traffic violators in the state, Odisha’s Bhubaneswar police on Wednesday slapped a fine of Rs 26,000 on the owner of a scooter after a minor boy was caught driving the two-wheeler without helmet in Khandagiri area here. While Rs 25,000 was fined as the driver was a juvenile, Rs 1,000 was penalized for not wearing a helmet.

The challan issued against one Niranjan  Dash, owner of the vehicle of Forest Park area here, mentioned that Debasis Parida, who has not attained 18 years age, was riding the scooter bearing registration number OR02 AG 0183 without helmet. The two-wheeler was also seized under Section 207 of MV Act as the rider, a resident of Jagamara area, was a juvenile and he failed to produce a driving license (DL), the challan reads.

The State Transport Authority (STA), Odisha, has recently made helmet compulsory for pillion riders and said the driving licence (DL) of a rider will be suspended if the pillion rider will be caught without helmet across the state.

As per the road accidents data available with the Union transport ministry, a whopping 1,423 persons (drivers/riders) in Odisha were killed in 2019 for the reason of not wearing helmets. Similarly, another 733 pillion-riders died in road mishaps for travelling without helmets.

While Odisha was ranked at 10th with regards to number of drivers/riders killed in road mishaps without helmets, the state ranked second notches higher at 8th nationally, when it comes to road mishaps proving fatal for pillion riders.

Besides, a high of over 3,400 persons were reported to have suffered injuries for the cause of non-wearing of the protective headgear last year, the report observed.