To ensure safety of women, it has been made mandatory for women to wear helmets while riding two-wheelers in Haryana.
An official spokesperson of the Haryana Transport Department said that the decision was taken following directions from Punjab and Haryana High Court to ensure compliance of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and rules under Haryana Motor Vehicle Rules, 1993 by enforcement agencies.
He said that every person driving or riding a two wheeler of any class or description should wear a protective headgear approved by Bureau of Indian Standards. Violators would be fined by the department.
However, people who have been medically advised by chief medical officers not to wear helmets and Sikhs have been exempted from wearing helmets, the spokesperson said.
He said that the Transport Department would organise road safety awareness programmes to make people realise the importance of wearing helmets.
Meanwhile, a data released by the Transport Department stated that 4,03,907 two-wheeler drivers and 1,50,855 pillion riders had been fined for not wearing protective headgear between January and July 2018. They included as many as 11,309 women in May and June.
A rigorous campaign to ensure compliance of traffic rules would continue, he added.