Cops get a taste of their own medicine

Hanamkonda: The employees turned up for duty at Police Headquarters on Tuesday had a bit of a shocker which they never experienced before. The policemen, who used to levy penalties on people for even minor traffic transgressions, were given a taste of their own medicine on Tuesday morning when they arrived at the police headquarters on their bikes without wearing helmets.

The security personnel, who denied entry to those not sporting helmets at the main gate, told them to follow the rules. This forced the personnel and visitors to park their vehicles outside the gate alongside compound wall to enter the headquarters.

Thanks to the administration’s game plan to encourage police to wear the headgear before they reach out the masses preaching the importance of wearing helmets to save their lives. Notwithstanding the studies that suggest there is a preponderance of evidence that wearing helmets saves lives of at least by 20 to 30 per cent bikers, people continue to ignore and try to defend themselves for not using the helmets.

Often people grumble that whether traffic rules are meant only for them and why not for those implementing them. To put a lid on such qualms, Commissioner of Police V Ravinder had recently made it clear that everyone is equal before law and all have to follow the traffic rules. Thus, came the ultimatum to those, including the staff, entering the premises of Police Headquarters on bike have to follow the helmet rule.

“There is definitely a change in people’s mindset if the law enforcing agency itself sets an example by wearing helmets and follows the traffic rules,” V Ravinder told The Hans India. The CP since he took over the reins of Warangal has his focus on minimising the loss of life due to road mishaps. 

He had directed the police to set up barricades at all accident-prone areas besides creating awareness among people.In fact, there was an effort last year by the then Commissioner of Police G Sudheer Babu, who purchased helmets with his own money and distributed them to policemen.