Truckers’ Union President Fined for Not Wearing Helmet While Driving Car

Every time Bahadur Singh Parihar goes to his Audi, he puts on a helmet. He’s not racing a Formula 1 car or off to the Dakar rally. It’s because he got fined ₹1,000 by the traffic police in Jhansi for not wearing one.

In March, Parihar, who heads a truckers’ union, got a message on his phone saying he’d been fined. When he checked online, he couldn’t believe it. The fine was for not wearing a helmet while driving his car. 

The photograph displayed a two-wheeler, but the vehicle type was labelled as a ‘motor car’. Mr Parihar attempted to resolve the issue with the traffic police, but they stated that they would address it after the Lok Sabha election, which concludes on June 1st. Following that, the counting will take place on June 4th, so he will need to wait even longer.

For now, Parihar wears a helmet while driving to avoid more fines. And it’s turning heads in Jhansi.

“I got fined for driving my car without a helmet. If I have to wear a helmet to drive a car… well, I’ll do it. The traffic police said they’ll deal with it after the elections,” Mr. Parihar explained in Hindi.