Read a text discussing a policy of charging fine for motorcyclists who wear non-standard helmets below.

Motorcyclists Wearing Non-Standard Helmets Should Be Fined

A motorcycle helmet is probably the first piece of personal protective equipment most motorcyclists reach for when they ride. Since head injuries account for the majority of motorcycle fatalities, head protection is of vital importance. While even the best helmet can’t guarantee complete immunity from injury, without a standard helmet, motorcyclists are up to five times more likely to suffer from a serious head injury in an accident, than a standard helmeted rider. Therefore, there has been a new policy stating that wearing standard helmet should be required for all motorcyclists. The policy is executed by charging fine to those who don’t wear the standard helmets recommended by the police. The point has now come up to whether charging fine is effective to raise motorcyclists’ awareness of wearing standard helmet or not.

Considering the serious head injury which might be caused by crash of even helmeted motorcyclists, the policy should be toughened. The police have warned motorcyclists the possible danger of not wearing standard helmet. As a matter of fact, thousands of motorcyclists flout the law each day, therefore the warning seemed not to be very effective. It is believed that by increasing the penalties, motorcyclists will start to take the law seriously. Standing in a position to support the policy, charging fine is considered to be effective as most motorcyclists have ignored any forms of law enforcement, including warning. Therefore, it is obvious that the penalty should be increased by charging fine to motorcyclists wearing non standard helmets.

Against the policy of charging fine, many motorists stand in the opposite side. They doubt whether charging fine is effective to raise their awareness of wearing standard helmets while riding. In fact, the police officers have started pulling over motorcyclists who wear non-standard helmet and charged them some amount of money as fine. However, they noticed that the police have failed to charge enough people. It’s against the argument saying that by increasing penalties, the motorcyclists are to obey the rule. Moreover, charging fine is considered economically ineffective. The price of a standard helmet remains expensive, while a motorcyclist, whose money has been taken away for fine, could not possibly afford to buy the standard helmet. Psychologically, the policy has failed to raise most motorcyclists’ awareness, instead.

Along the arguments for and against the policy of charging fine, it is true that without a standard helmet, motorcyclists are up to five times more likely to suffer from a serious head injury in an accident. Some efforts have been made to raise their awareness of wearing standard helmet. However, increasing the penalty by charging fine seems to be ineffective to enforce the law.

Adapted from: Motorcyclist Magazine, February 1991; The Jakarta Post