Why no Penalty for the Home Minister of Maharashtra

Two years back, R R Patil launched a drive to promote use of seat belts and helmets

R R Patil

Caught without a seat belt on Tuesday, a sheepish home minister said the rule needs a rethink since traffic does not allow speeding in the city

Yogesh Sadhwani and Sachin Haralkar

     

Posted On Thursday, August 05, 2010 at 02:58:47 AM

Two years ago R R Patil, then deputy chief minister, painted the town red by riding pillion on a bike and wearing a rather conspicuous helmet. Few weeks before that, he had made it a point to be photographed, seated next to the driver, wearing a seat belt.  He had even asked the then deputy commissioner of traffic police Harish Baijal to track him and find out if he was wearing a seat belt. Conscientious minister that he was, he reasoned, he wanted to lead by example.  sachin haralkar A lot has changed since then. Patil, now home minister, does not ride pillion wearing a helmet, neither does he bother to wear a seat belt when seated next to his driver.  When Mirror caught the minister on Tuesday sans seat belt, and quizzed him about it, he said, “I often wear a seat belt. But I must say that with speed limit in the city going down to 15-20 km per hour, we need to rethink the use of seat belts within the city in the first place.” Chief Minister Ashok Chavan’s driver and guard flouting safety rules Cops in R R Patil’s convoy also do not wear seat belts A principal secy’s driver without seat belt Coming from a minister, this is nothing short of shocking. Wearing seat belts is mandatory, not only in all major cities around the world, but in our country too. In Shanghai, the city Mumbai aspires to be, a seat belt law was strictly enforced in 2004, and followed up with several drives armed with heavy fines.In Delhi, not wearing seats belts could draw a fine that is trebled in the second offence as per Section 177 of Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.  Patil’s theory was thus summarily dismissed by several traffic experts. Mohd Afzal, joint secretary of Welfare Organisation For Road Safety and Prevention of Accidents (WORSPA) argued, “If you meet with an accident even at a lower speed, those sitting in the front are bound to hit the windshield. Seat belts are enforced internationally to save lives.” Sudheer Badami, civil engineer and transportation analyst, added, “When congestion is less, the speed of vehicles increase tremendously. People often beat the red lights and speed off. When you jam the brake at that velocity for whatever reason, you’re bound to hit the windshield unless you are wearing a seat belt.” Meanwhile, as far as leading by example goes, Patil has some faithful followers among his entourage. None of the men who accompany him wear seat belts or sport helmets. The pillion rider on a traffic police bike that escorts Patil’s car does not wear a helmet either. Mumbai Mirror also discovered that CM Ashok Chavan’s driver and guard, who sit in the front seat of his vehicle, do not bother to wear seat belts – even when Chavan is in the car. In fact, not wearing seat belts or helmets has become de rigueur for most of the Mantralaya babus and their drivers.  A traffic policeman sans helmet sachin Haralkar The law keepers too are guilty of transgression. At the traffic police headquarters on Tuesday, between 2 pm and 5 pm, we saw several vehicles of traffic police units and senior officers zoom in and out, with none of the drivers and those seated next to them wearing seat belt. Some of the constables on bikes too were not wearing helmets. Most of them said they weren’t aware of the concept of mandatory helmets. Cops attached to police stations, crime branch and other departments too do not wear seat belts or helmets. While all of them get away without being fined or disciplined, the common man is not so lucky. In the week starting July 12, traffic police penalised 1,147 drivers for not wearing seat belts and 3,958 riders for not wearing helmets. Urging Patil to rethink his statement, Badami said, “What our ministers need to understand, is that it is not enough to review traffic rules. The city needs traffic calming measures.” In the week starting July 12, traffic police penalised 1,147 drivers