Amid a series of bicycle accidents across the country, everyone riding a bicycle is required to wear a helmet from April 4 to protect the safety of users. In Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, an event was held to encourage people to wear it.
With the enforcement of the revised Road Traffic Law, it became mandatory for all people who ride bicycles, regardless of age, to wear helmets from the first day.
At an event held at a plaza in Shinjuku Ward, police officers and others put up banners with the words "Wear helmets on bicycles" and introduced helmets designed to look like hats.
Comedian Dandy Banno also appeared at the event, and when a police officer taught him the importance of helmets, he immediately put on a helmet and rode a bicycle and called on the gathered people to wear it.
According to the National Police Agency, 1 people, or 339% of the 52 people who died in bicycle accidents nationwide last year, suffered fatal head injuries.
On the other hand, helmets are only worn by 179.9% of those who died or were injured, and the low rate of wearing helmets among the adult generation in particular is an issue.
Chief Akira Takabi of the Traffic Division of the Yotsuya Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department said, "If you don't wear a helmet, the probability of dying from hitting your head is very high, and I want everyone from children to adults to wear helmets."
"Helmet is safe."
We heard in Tokyo about the compulsory wearing of helmets for everyone who rides a bicycle.
A 90-year-old man who was riding a bicycle wearing a helmet said, "I have been told that it is dangerous if I fall because I am old, so I try to wear a helmet.
An 82-year-old man who was also riding a bicycle wearing a helmet said, "I started wearing it about two months ago when I saw the news that it would be mandatory to wear it.
A man in his 2s with a 2-year-old child said, "I ride my bicycle to and from the nursery school every day, and I and my children wear helmets. I think helmets are necessary for safety."