Schools are reminding parents and children to wear helmets when they come to school, a rule that many of them have forgotten over the last two-and-a-half years.
At least one school has started sending children back if they are seen without a helmet. Another institution is addressing parents about the safety of their children during meetings.
Senior officers in the traffic department said riding a two-wheeler without a helmet is a “serious offence” and can lead to fatal accidents.
Parents dropping their children to school are often seen without helmets and sometimes the kids are without the headgear. When asked, they often cite excuses like “got late” or “forgot to get one”, schools said.
Some guardians are seen carrying two children on a two-wheeler, both without helmets.
In the last two months, Kolkata police have prosecuted 76,602 motorcyclists and scooterists for violation of helmet-related norms, sources in the police headquarters at Lalbazar said.
According to official records of the traffic department, 67,371 two-wheeler riders were prosecuted for riding without helmets in the last two months.
According to police sources, 8,727 people were prosecuted for riding with more than one pillion rider while 504 persons were prosecuted for using substandard helmets.
“In a large number of cases involving two-wheeler accidents, we find that the chances of survival of the riders wearing a helmet is far more than those who ride without a helmet,” said a senior officer.
At Indus Valley World School, a student riding pillion on a two-wheeler was sent back because of not wearing a helmet.
“We take the action when we see a student without a helmet. But we also tell parents or guardians to wear one,” said Amita Prasad, director of Indus Valley World School.
Prasad said that usually a warning is given on the first occasion and repeated offenders are sent back.
“Teachers on duty are asked to be strict,” said Prasad.
The school has put the rules in the diary a few years back but despite that, parents tend to ignore it, a school official said.
“Use of helmets is mandatory for all children riding on 2 wheelers/bicycles. No child will be allowed to enter/leave the school premises until he/ she is wearing a helmet,” the rule says.
Not wearing a helmet, however, is a problem that was there even before the pandemic. The two-year gap in inperson classes has only aggravated the problem, teachers said.
Teachers said they had noticed that though in-person classes had resumed, parents seemed to have forgotten many of the school rules and regulations.
“We have started addressing parents during parent-teacher meetings about the need to wear a helmet and be responsible about their child’s safety. Not wearing a helmet puts the child at risk is what we tell parents. It is something that they should understand,” said Jessica Gomes Surana, principal of Loreto Convent Entally.
School heads said that often the institution’s hands are tied because the offence is outside the school gate and not within the campus.
“Since parents drop the child outside the gate, we have no control over them. We can only request them and make them aware,” a principal said.
