With ‘air-conditioned helmets’, traffic police hope to keep a cool head when on the job this summer Premium

Introducing air-conditioned helmets for traffic police in Avadi City to provide relief from extreme heat.

In order to provide some relief from the scorching sun, an ‘air-conditioned helmet’ has been introduced for traffic police personnel who stand on roads to regulate traffic. The initiative was launched in the Avadi City Police limits, a suburb of the city, on a pilot basis to ensure the personnel do their duty in comfort.

Avadi City Police Commissioner K. Shankar said that during peak summer, the extreme heat affected both the physical and mental health of the personnel, besides also affecting productivity. “We hope these air conditioned helmets will provide some relief for our traffic personnel this summer,” he added.

The initiative was funded by a city-based private firm as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme. The helmets cost ₹20,000 apiece, and were manufactured by a private firm in Telangana. They have a small air-conditioning unit in the front and are powered by rechargeable lithium ion batteries, which have a standby time of about eight hours. Each helmet is relatively light, weighing around 850 g.

The cooling system has been designed to provide portable ventilation in areas where ambient temperature is between 40°C and 60°C. Additionally, the helmet is not just an air conditioning device, it is capable of heating too, Mr. Shankar added.

He said these helmets were being tested. Initial feedback from the traffic police personnel suggested that the helmets could be used for a short time to provide some relief from the heat. “There is a slight vibration when the air conditioning is on. At present, only 50 of the 334 traffic police personnel in the Avadi City Police have been provided with these helmets,” he said.

After analysing the pilot project’s results, efforts will be taken to procure more helmets for traffic police personnel, Mr. Shankar said.