The recently released NCRB Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2023 report reveals a worrying reality for Telangana.
Published Oct 04, 2025 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 04, 2025 | 8:00 AM
Representational image. Credit: iStock
Synopsis: In Hyderabad, helmet rules under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 are widely ignored by two-wheeler riders and pillions, unlike strict enforcement in Delhi and Bengaluru. Traffic police cite manpower shortages and congestion as barriers, while NCRB 2023 data reveals rising accidents, with two-wheelers causing most deaths in Telangana. Officials advocate higher fines and awareness for safety.
On Hyderabad’s busy roads, traffic rules often seem more like polite suggestions than laws. Nowhere is this more evident than in the city’s casual disregard for helmet use, despite it being mandated under the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.
Riders weave through snarls of traffic, many without helmets, while pillion riders—whether friends, family, or even young children – are even less likely to wear one. The sight of three people squeezed onto a scooter, heads uncovered, is so common that it barely draws a second glance.
Even bike taxi services, which in theory should model compliance, rarely provide helmets for passengers. The contrast becomes starker when compared to cities like Delhi or Bengaluru, where strict enforcement ensures both rider and pillion cover up.
In Hyderabad, however, the risks are shrugged off with the reasoning that “nobody cares.” For the police, enforcement is an uphill task, with limited manpower and competing priorities. But the statistics paint a grim picture: thousands of lives lost in two-wheeler accidents, many of them, perhaps, preventable.
Nazeer Kamran is an IT employee in Hyderabad who moved from Delhi three years ago.
“In the first month, I felt that the helmet rules were more lax here. One helmet seemed like it was more than enough when others were not wearing it, but still not getting stopped,” he said, speaking to South First.
“I’ve not seen anyone getting stopped for the helmet rule. I can see them stop for drunk driving all the time, but not for helmets,” he said. “Here, even the Rapido bike taxis don’t give pillion riders helmets, if they are wearing them in the first place,” he continued.
However, he noted that the same could not be said about Delhi. “Over there, not just the rider, but the pillion must also wear a helmet. I mean, they are supposed to wear it across the country, but the enforcement is much stricter there,” he noted.
“They’d stop you immediately and fine you. Here, that isn’t the case; they can ride without a helmet in front of the cops. People from other cities might be surprised at how lax it is here,” he reiterated.
Shashank, another rider and a native of the city, shared this opinion with South First.
Speaking at the Panjagutta signal during a long red light, he noted: “The commuters on Hyderabad’s road treat traffic laws like suggestions. I’m here wearing a helmet for my safety. However, my own father doesn’t wear it to this date. He says nobody cares, and that seems to be true. I’m not saying everyone is like that, but a big chunk of the motorists in the city operate on that principle,” he lamented, pointing at a couple and their child riding on a two-wheeler without helmets before taking off as usual.
Traffic personnel also shared their experiences in enforcing this rule. Wishing to remain unnamed, they explained that the traffic conditions are not feasible to enforce the rule effectively.
“Given the kind of traffic in Hyderabad, it often becomes very hard to enforce the rules properly. Amidst all this, we have to prioritise which violations to attend to and which to ignore,” they explained.
“To top it off, most junctions in the city only have one to two personnel managing them, if any. As such, when we see so many motorists riding without helmets, it becomes impossible to stop them all. We then prioritise drunk driving or rash driving because they could potentially harm others with their behaviours,” he continued.
Other personnel shared similar views, managing the traffic at a Secunderabad junction, one of the personnel pointed to various cases of riders or pillion without helmets.
“A pillion wearing a helmet is an absolute rarity. Even if they are children or older people, you barely see a pillion with a helmet. However, enforcing this rule with limited personnel may cause traffic issues for others. We can only do so much as enforcers; if the people themselves are complacent about their lives, they have to think about it,” he loathed.
The recently released NCRB Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2023 report reveals a worrying reality for Telangana. Firstly, the number of traffic accidents in India has gone up between 2022 and 2023, from 4,72,467 to 4,91,190, by 3.96 percent.
The same applied to Telangana, which saw a 6.46 per cent increase in traffic accidents from 22,235 in 2022 to 23,673 in 2023. In fact, it made up 4.8 per cent of all traffic accidents in India during 2023. Similarly, Hyderabad also saw a 16.97 per cent increase in traffic accidents from 2,516 in 2022 to 2,943 in 2023. It accounted for 4.1 per cent of all traffic accidents across 89 major cities nationwide.
Telangana also saw 4.6 per cent of all traffic injuries in the country, having 21,022 of the 4,51,228 cases in the country. It also saw 4.26 per cent of the traffic deaths with 8,435 of 1,97,871 cases in the country.
However, nationwide, two-wheelers contributed the lion’s share of injuries and deaths from traffic accidents. It contributed 47.1 per cent of injuries and 45.8 per cent of the deaths due to traffic accidents in the country.
Telangana in particular saw 4.9 per cent of two-wheeler injuries and 4.8 per cent of the deaths. Of this, Hyderabad saw 21.33 per cent of injuries and 6.76 per cent of the deaths in Telangana. To put that into perspective, with 260 deaths in Hyderabad, that is the equivalent of over one person dying every two days in 2023. For Telangana, with 3844 deaths, that is the equivalent of over 10 people dying a day in 2023
“The highest number of traffic challans continues to be for driving without a helmet in Telangana. There is a fundamental mindset problem with the commuter; perhaps they become complacent because this rule is not enforced as overtly as others. While we can run campaigns, and we did just a few months ago, we can only create awareness and enforce the rule; we cannot change everybody’s mind,” Hyderabad Traffic DCP Rahul Hegde said, speaking to South First.
“While we regularly work to encourage commuters wearing helmets, the change also has to come from them,” he added. However, he noted that the enforcement of the rule also comes with its own set of challenges. “We do not have enough personnel to enforce the rule in every case that the traffic police may come across on the roads.
Continuing further, he said: “Stopping every individual who does not wear a helmet or has their pillion wear a helmet would lead to drastic traffic conditions. People are already complaining about traffic chokeholds. Even if we do this for their own safety, enforcing the helmet rule would lead to a kind of congestion and inconvenience which we may not be equipped to handle.”
However, that is not to say that offenders will get off scot-free. He added that the numerous cameras at various junctions capture pictures of offenders to issue an e-Challan.
Contrasting the enforcement of the helmet rule with drunk driving, Hegde explained: “In the case of drunk driving, the rider is not only a threat to themselves but also to potential innocent bystanders. That is why we ensure that those found in violation of the drunk driving rule face action on the spot. However, the frequency of helmetless driving is much higher, making it more challenging. Here, the commuters’ complacency is putting their own, or their loved ones, lives at risk.”
DCP Hedge believes that there must be a systemic fundamental change in the process to ensure the use of helmets.
“There are two things that can help in the enforcement of the rule, and ensuring that the people are willing participants. Not only should the fine be increased, but authorities should also ensure that the fine is collected on time. That, in my opinion, would push the use of helmets up.
Responding to the notion that the year-end discounts might encourage traffic violations, he asserted that it is not likely to happen again.
“We brought in the fine discounts once or twice to ensure the payment of challans from about a decade ago. However, after it came to our notice that some people felt this was a way for them to violate traffic laws and get away with just a tap on the wrist, we have requested that the state not bring it back. It is not likely to happen again in the future,” he reported.
DCP Hegde also took the opportunity to further stress the importance of wearing a helmet. “People have to wear helmets for their own safety. When you’re riding in a city like Hyderabad, especially on a two-wheeler, that is the only safety measure you have. Cars have seatbelts, airbags, and impact absorption for safety. However, in two-wheelers, even slow speeds can lead to slippage. The resulting head injuries become the cause for most deaths in such cases,” he stressed.
“Nationwide, in the 2000s, there was a tough stand on the use of helmets. There was a deadline issued to all two-wheelers, stating that they would be subject to strict action if they did not use helmets. That led to a surge in the use of helmets,” he recalled. “However, while some cities like Bengaluru or Delhi were able to sustain it, we were not able to,” he continued.
“We have to take forward these initiatives more strictly, but doing so needs support from all the stakeholders, the people too,” he stressed. “The public needs to understand that we are not harassing them, we are just trying to keep them safe,” he asserted.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
