Should I, Shouldn’t I?

Buckle up! No one has to tell you, remind you to buckle up these days. I remember how traffic cops would be ever vigilant to challan anyone who didn’t bother to use their seat belt. Challan is the Hindi word used for traffic fines. You don’t buckle up, you pay a fine! Those were the days when buckling up became a traffic rule because no one cared to use the seat belts and the government was telling people to to use them, they were very controversial.

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Today, it isn’t necessary to remind anyone except, of course, if you’re driving with a kid. One doesn’t even have to specifically ‘think’ about it. It comes as a force of habit. I also recall how people grumbled about it. Found hundreds of flaws with it. Felt it was a money-making racket with the government in cahoots with businesses. However, all arguments and counter arguments were put to rest ages ago.

Then came the compulsory use of helmets.

Do we have to remind anyone driving a scooter or motorbike to wear a helmet? Not these days we don’t. Yet, when it became mandatory to wear a helmet, it met with equal resistance as the safety belt. People refused to wear it citing their own theories on how useless it was and the rant once again that the government was just helping businesses. They might have had a point there, but there was a ‘safety’ point to it as well.

I had a few relate to me how so and so died despite having a helmet strapped firmly on the head. They justified their objection to wearing a helmet this way. But check the stats, I’d say. How many were saved because of the helmet. Check how many died with the helmet on because the helmet wasn’t strapped on properly or not strapped at all. I had seen a number of people doing this… keeping their helmets on their heads but not strapping them so they could take them off on a stretch where they knew there were no cops nor checks. They did this to avoid being fined.

The women (in my country) were very worried about their hairdos. Especially those who made ‘jhooda’ (buns). Many women who had long hair rolled their hair into buns that were not on the nape of their neck but pinned higher. There were mutterings and grumbling and someone in the government decided women could drive without a helmet! I can understand the problem women with long hair have. And I also understand how some communities have religious restrictions on cutting their hair. But that is not an insurmountable problem for women. There are other ways to do one’s hair to accommodate the helmet.

This certainly brought up the question about safety. How did the government justify this? It made no sense to me. Were they inferring that women had harder nuts to crack?! If she were to ride a two wheeler, she was in equal danger of injuring herself fatally too. And it puzzled me why women were so happy with this decision.

Down the years, one saw many women using the helmet while driving. But it was their choice to do so. It wasn’t imposed on them. I have no clue how it is these days in my home country. I wonder if women are still exempt from wearing a helmet. I guess the traffic rules and regulations differ from state to state, so the situation would be different from state to state.

I wonder what the response would be if helmets for kids riding bicycles were to be imposed in my native place? I wasn’t used to seeing this in our day and during my stay back home. And I found it great that kids here must use a helmet while cycling. It made sense to me.

Everyone has a right to their opinion. But at times, it is important to think things over in the right perspective.

Nobody tells you to buckle up anymore. It isn’t necessary. Everyone just does it.

Now we are faced with the vaccination protests. The arguments continue pro and con. But no one is thinking about how and why the disease is spreading all over the world. There may be cases of vaccinated people getting infected, but like in the helmet and seatbelt issues, see how many aren’t getting infected. How many are not spreading it. And more importantly, how many unvaccinated people are spreading it. One person can infect quite a few directly who then infect more.

Why do we protest so much about things that are good for us now? We argue and fight about our rights. But as I see it, I have the right to my opinion, but I have no right to harm anyone through my actions and decisions. Unvaccinated, and roaming around town, I can catch the virus and bring it back home. I might have an elderly person or kids back home. Neighbors and friends, relations I meet. I would be infecting unsuspecting individuals. Apart from keeping myself safer than I was before, by getting vaccinated, I’d be also protecting my kids… my family.

As Spock said, “To deny the facts would be illogical.”

PS: These are just my thoughts as I see things. I’m just trying to understand the situation. If you don’t agree, that’s ok. Please don’t post any rude comments.

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