02 March 2005	Wednesday	20 Muharram 1426

LAHORE, March 1: Advocate M.D. Tahir on Tuesday submitted again a writ petition in the Lahore High Court, challenging Punjab government's decision under which the wearing of helmets by motorcyclists was made mandatory.

The lawyer refiled the petition after it was returned by the high court registrar office with the objection that it was not accompanied by an official notification.

He submitted that the government had issued no notification in the official gazette and motorcyclists were being forced to wear helmets through an official memorandum instead, which did not hold legal force.

Advocate Tahir submitted that the order, which came into force yesterday, was incompatible with weather conditions in the province and would be an additional financial burden on the poor. Another point taken in the petition was that the action was arbitrary because the government had failed to solicit public opinion which was mandatory in such cases.

He also cited police reports that deaths caused by head injuries amounted to two to four per cent of road accidents while 96 per cent of the deaths in such accidents were caused by other reasons. He also submitted that leg injury, and not head injury, was the most common result of motorcycle accidents.

He alleged that the government wanted to benefit helmet manufacturers and this precisely was the reason for the order which he sought to be declared illegal and against the interest of the people.