Lakhs of lives, young and old are lost on two-wheelers on the roads of a developing India and several families are left mourning in the grief of losing someone dear. All that it takes to prevent these fatalities take a death toll is a 'helmet'.

Spreading awareness on the use of helmets is the need of the hour and several laws have been made to ensure the same. Yet, films and songs keep depicting scenes with the lead characters riding a two-wheeler without helmets. These scenes incite people and especially the youngsters to indulge in such rash and life-risking behavior. Nor do such scenes carry a disclaimer stating the risk potential of driving without helmets on roads.   

I want to fight with your support for the lives that have been taken due to the absence of helmets as well as the danger these instances might pose to every one of us on the roads. The Central Board of Film Certification needs to take a stand against these scenes and edit them out of movies or provide a disclaimer stating the dangerous nature of these acts as well as violating rules. The Ministry of Law and Justice should also highlight how riding without helmets is a grace offense as well as a threat to life.  India has the highest number of road fatalities in the world with 151,113 people being killed in 480,652 road accidents in 2019 as reported by the transport research wing of the ministry of road transport and Highway. Amongst these, two-wheelers were involved in 37% of the road deaths in the country with 91%  of these accidents occurring due to non-helmet riding. 

Loss of life results in social and economic costs to individuals, families, communities, and our nation. Non-compliance with the traffic rules of wearing helmets not only endangers individual lives but is a huge threat to every person on the road.  At such a crucial juncture the portrayal of leads in movies and songs riding two-wheelers without helmets advocates a message of righteousness towards flouting traffic rules. The younger generation gets highly influenced by these scenes, tries to emulate them, and starts considering non-compliance with traffic rules as a cool and trendy thing. The youth must not be imbibed with such values of flouting rules and risking individual as well as community lives. These scenes of riding two-wheelers without helmets showcase a mentality that considers rules to be followed at the whims and fancies of the masses rather than being taken for the good of oneself. If this trend continues, India will continue losing its beloved citizens due to not wearing helmets and impose a heavy burden on law enforcement authorities.

I acknowledge and appreciate the new two-wheeler rules mandating helmets to be necessary for not only drivers but also pillion riders. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in cooperation with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have made intensive efforts to spread awareness on road safety. They have started several initiatives aimed to promote compliance with traffic rules and the enforcement of wearing helmets on riding and driving two-wheelers. These steps will go a long way in ensuring traffic rules to be followed and adhered to. However, the highlight of the evil practice of driving two-wheelers without helmets acts as a barrier to road safety and encourages non-compliance with these rules.

Sub-section (2) of section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (37 of 1952) and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting No. S.O. 9E) 9 dated 7th January 1978 governs and regulates the standard of movies and serials. Sub-section 2 states that CBFC shall ensure that the medium of film remains responsible and sensitive to the values and standards of society. In lieu of the same, Indian society places compliance with laws as an intrinsic standard to not only ensure public order but also community well-being. The depiction of heroes and heroines riding two-wheelers without helmets degrades the values and legal ethos on which our society rests. Subsection 17 of the same states that the films should not endanger public order while in contrast these scenes not only disrupt public order but justify the same. Similarly, the Food Safety and Standards (Alcohol Beverages) Regulations, 2018 make it mandatory for the manufacturers of alcohol to carry a statutory warning that "Consumption of alcohol is injurious to health", “Smoking is injurious to health”, etc. To support the same in 2017 World Health Organization stated that the Labelling of alcoholic products can be considered as one of the important components of public health strategy in order to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. In order to establish a better social understanding of wearing helmets while riding on two-wheelers, it is very important to state similar warnings in such scenes or delete them. Section 129 of Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 reads that “Every person, above four years of age, driving or riding or being carried on a motorcycle of any class or description shall, while in public place wear protective headgear conforming to standards prescribed by the Central government”. Movies containing scenes showing two-wheelers being driven without helmets challenge the above-stated sections and law enforcement authorities. 

Let's stop the depiction of scenes without helmets in movies!! I have started this petition asking the ministries and government to mandate that warnings and advisories be displayed in scenes that depict two-wheelers being ridden without helmets to ensure that public safety shall not be endangered. There have been films like Toilet-Ek Prem Katha which openly display two-wheeler riders and pillion riders without any helmets. In the movie Phool Aur Kante, a 1991 production Ajay Devgan’s bike stunt is another blatant reminder that the 1977 Motor Vehicles Act Amendment, Section 85A has been flouted throughout history. The 2019 hit film Kabir Singh has several scenes displaying two-wheelers riding without helmets. The iconic movie MS Dhoni had depicted the male lead riding a bike without a helmet in several instances. Such scenes are quite common in our film industry and without advisories influence young minds negatively. They connote not only a dangerous signal to the public but also convey a wrong impression that these traffic violations are not taken cognizance of and not punishable too!

I am confident that if my petition on change.org is signed by hundreds and thousands of citizens like you, our collective voice will be heard by the Central Board of Film Certification. Let’s speak up so that #HumanLivesComeBeforeEntertainment.