Royal Enfield Bullet rider fined for not wearing seatbelt in Goa in June 2017

Satish S Naik was riding his Royal Enfield Bullet in Ponda, Goa on 2017-06-07 when he was flagged down by the cops for not wearing a helmet. Since Goa now has a law that requires the rider to wear a helmet while riding, he was asked to pay the Rs 100 challan. While the police officer was filling in the challan form, he filled in the offense as ‘Not wearing a seatbelt’ as opposed to ‘Not wearing a helmet’.

It is obvious that bikes don’t offer a seatbelt and that the officer meant to write helmet. However, this challan is certainly funny to read. The scanned copy of the challan has gone viral over the internet over the past few days. Luckily though, the officer got the Section of Law right. While the offense for not wearing a seatbelt comes under Section 177 of the CMVR, that of not wearing a helmet comes under Section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act.

It is quite common to see people not wearing helmets, carrying more than one pillion and even jumping signals when on the bike. It is only in India that we see people not really taking such rules seriously. Everywhere else, people wear helmets and riding gear to protect themselves, not just to be safe from getting fined.

A lot of riders sling the helmet on the handle bar and wear it while nearing a cop. Make sure to buy a helmet that has a ISI mark. Also, wearing other riding gear such as gloves, knee guards and jackets can help save riders from injuries during an accident.