Save my skull from Hel(l)met

The spirit lifting feeling of the wind in the hair is no more. The days of the spirit dampner called

Hel(l)met are here again. I've always loved that amazing feeling of the wind crashing on my hair as I rode the bike at top speed. Now its really sad to know that I cant enjoy it anymore if i dont get a highway in my backyard. After many days of waiting in vain with the hope of the government becoming lenient on the helmet rule, today I gave in to the pressure from parents and brought a helmet. The guy at the shop was telling that this is the only shop selling original helmets and showed me the ISI mark. Then itself I was convinced that this is surely a duplicate one. But who cares. Afterall, this is just to fill up the money thirsty eyes of the police. My first expereince today of wearing this was almost like hell to say the least. It kinda suffocated me and I tried hard to breath in some fresh air. Within 5 minutes, my head was paining. Back home, after I removed it and touched my head, it was like a hot oven. I guess this helmet's gonna contribute its own share in my already high rate of hair falling. Hope you will all see the full bald crusader in an year if this rule is not cancelled soon.

Everytime the helmet company's market profits dip, the courts put out an order making it compulsory for the poor biker to carry the heavy load on his head. And he has to shell out anything in the range of Rs. 750- 1500 to get this thing. This time the court took up the matter considering a petition filed by a man who lost his son in a bike accident. But its no secret that some helmet companies were behind the courtreprimanding the government for not enforcing the helmet law compulsarily. It should be left to the individual to decide whether he/she wants to wear a helmet or not. There are many who find it really uncomfortable to ride a bike and thus end up in accidents just because of this. Wearing the helmet, your head might be protected. But what if a lorry driven by a drunken driver hits you. The head gear's surely not gonna save you. For that, we need to enforce strict laws against drunken driving. We also need to control the flow of liquor. Kerala is known as a state which consumes the maximum quantity of liquor in India. All this in a state which is pretty small compared to many other states in India. Most of the accidents happen due to drunken driving.

No one rides a bike with the aim of banging his head on the road and dying. We all know how to drive safely. And the city roads are not like some formula one or motogp circuit. Coupled with the potholed roads, the heavy traffic makes it difficult for even to reach a speed of 50 kmph. Helmets are good if we are riding at 100kmph in 6 lane superhighways. But not in the narrow poorly maintained roads of the state. Another problem is carrying this thing everywhere you go. Its not possible to take this thing with me when i go for jogging at the museum. And given my luck with the traffic police, that would be exactly the time when they stop me on the road and make me pay 100 bucks for violating the rule. Last time the rule was made compulsory, the policemen went into overdrive and once famously threw down a biker with a lathi for not wearing helmet. Today, I brought the helmet only because my parents still remember that story very well. Hope the government cancells the order soon. Until then, its life on the road with the HEL(L)MET.

pic courtesy - comstockcreations

with a pain in the head,
your crusader Praveen