In an effort to reduce road mishap casualties, Odisha government today decided to make wearing helmets compulsory for the pillion riders of two-wheelers too.
The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting on road safety presided by Chief Secretary A P Padhi here.
Padhi announced the new regulation through video conferencing with all the district collectors and SPs.
"Though the numbers of accidents have decreased in Odisha, fatalities per accident figure is not very encouraging. Hence, helmet will be made compulsory for riders and pillion riders in the state," said Asit Tripathy, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, told reporters.
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This apart, Tripathy said police stations across the state will be given the power by which police officials above the ASI rank can penalise the violators and cancel their driving licenses.
Official sources said, a total number of 10,532 accidents took place in the state in 2016 causing death and injuries to 4435 and 11,312 persons respectively.
