Amresh Parab
Panaji: Data from Goa police reveals a startling trend in road safety, showing that over 57% of the 643 two-wheeler riders who died of head injuries between 2021 and January 2026 were wearing helmets at the time of their accidents.
Specifically, 371 of those fatalities involved riders using protective gear, while 272 were not. This trend extends to pillion riders as well, where three out of the four recorded deaths involved individuals wearing helmets.
The fatalities were nearly evenly split across the state, with 329 deaths reported in North Goa and 318 in South Goa.
A police officer said that in many of these fatal cases, riders often sustain multiple severe injuries beyond head trauma, complicating the effectiveness of standard safety equipment.
Despite the high fatality rate among helmet users, the non-use of helmets remains one of the most frequent traffic violations in the state. In 2025 alone, the police booked 2,18,011 traffic violations, with 54,096 cases – nearly 25% –pertaining specifically to the failure to wear a helmet.
To combat these rising figures, authorities are shifting their focus toward quality prosecution and the use of modern enforcement gadgets to address the contributing factors like over-speeding, driving under influence of alcohol and mobile phone usage.
Alongside these enforcement measures, the police are also conducting safety awareness programmes and have submitted various proposals to civic bodies for physical road improvements to better manage accident-prone zones.
