Following in the footsteps of various other states in India, including neighbours Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, the Bengaluru Police is set to implement a new rule preventing bikers in the city to buy petrol unless they wear helmets, The News Minute reports.

‘No Helmet, No Petrol’ rule which will be enforced from 5 August comes in an attempt to improve awareness of rider safety. “We will hold a meeting with the owners of the petrol pumps on Saturday (3 August). We will start implementing the rule from Monday (5 August),” said DCP Traffic East, Bengaluru, KV Jagadish.

He adds that the police are “seeking social cooperation for a good cause” as there will not be provisions which penalise the petrol pump employees. The number of fatal road accidents which include two-wheeler users has been increasing over the past few years despite the police complusing helmets for both riders and pillion riders.

Statistics for the police reveals the number of deaths in two-wheeler accidents has increased from 140 in 2017 to 150 in 2018. In 2019, the number of casualties has already touched 105 till July. A similar trend is observed in the case of injuries, the report adds.

The no helmet, no petrol rule has been effective since August 2016 in Kerala and September 2017 in Andhra Pradesh. The new move follows the recent increase of fine amounts in different traffic violations after the passing of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha.