HELMET FOR WOMEN - WHY DO WOMEN HESITATE TO WEAR HELMETS?

Women two wheeler riders without helmet is a very common sight in the metro cities or even in the small towns of India. Indian metro cities have a rule that even the women pillion-riders are supposed to wear helmets but that some how never happens. Yes, there was a time when wearing helmets for women was optional but it is not the scenario anymore but this rule comes with an exception for the Sikhs.

It was in the year 1998 that the Delhi Government made wearing helmet compulsory for all men and women on motorcycles and scooters but the blow back was that there was a lot of opposition from the Sikh community and as a result the government made helmets optional for women. However, this law had to be changed by the year 2014 because of the increasing rate of road accident and the Delhi’s Transport department made it compulsory for even women to wear helmet.

Every two wheeler rider should always remember that a scooter or a bike does not provide the structural protection that a car does to keep the driver safe in case of an accident only if he or she is wearing a seat belt. If you are riding a two wheeler you must take extra caution to protect your body. The most important part of the body that you should protect first is the head. The head and the brain is vulnerable to injury in a case of a two wheeler accident. Drivers and passengers who wear helmets have a greater chance of survival over the non-helmet wearers.

Whenever the question why women hesitate to wear helmet even when the women’s helmet is an open face helmets, is asked there is a list of reasons that crosses our mind and some of them are:

·        The very first and most common reason is that wearing helmets ruins their hairstyle.

·        The another common and obvious reason is that they feel very hot and uncomfortable wearing them.

·        They even say that wearing helmet makes them sweat a lot.

·        But the last reason is the one we hear but prefer to avoid is that there is no one to check them.

 In fact, there was a survey taken that clearly proved that most women two wheeler riders do not wear helmets just because the police never stop them or even fine them for not wearing a helmet.

 When a women rider is stopped by the police for not wearing a helmet there a number of weird and illogical reasons that they give just to save their back from being fined. Some say that they were not aware of such a rule being implemented or even ask that if it is compulsory for women. Some even go on to say that they forgot their wallet home and so they won’t be able to pay the fine. But there are some who plead to let them go as it is their first time and from next time onwards they won’t repeat the mistake. But the most famous one is that they just removed it and kept it in the carrier.

Besides all those checking drive and penalties, there should also be an awareness drive that educates the women about the importance for wearing a helmet. It is also important to educate the passengers about the need of buying and wearing a good quality helmet that is up to the ISI safety standards. They should also be taught that helmets should be strapped properly. These little things can save your life and this message should be very clearly communicated through such awareness drives.

Helmets lowers the impact of the hard surfaces that our head would hit during any accident. Helmets are designed to compress when struck. This decreases the severity of the impact by absorbing and dispersing the force.

Aaron helmet offers some of the most stylish and trendy helmets for women that are also safe and within their budget.