India Today: New Delhi: Saturday,
June 24, 2017.
Here's a heads-up for all two-wheeler riders in the
country: you could soon face heavy penalties for wearing a helmet lacking the
ISI certification mark.
Bearing in mind the slew of motorcycle and scooter
accidents across the country every year, the ministry of road transport and
highways is now preparing to make the stamp compulsory for all helmets.
The symbol, developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) - the Indian Standards Institute till December 31, 1986, confirms the
quality of a product.
An original ISI-authorised helmet can protect the skull
to a large extent in case of even serious road accidents, experts say. The
production, sale and use of substandard headgear may also become an offence and
incur hefty fine or other penal action.
RTI QUERY
The information was received through an RTI query by
Ullhas PR, a Delhi-based social filmmaker who has been campaigning for making
ISI helmets compulsory for all two-wheeler riders in all states.
The ministry is considering asking the BIS to bring ISI
helmets for two-wheelers under the mandatory list.
Ullhas brought to the notice of the ministry that
spurious and substandard helmets for two-wheelers are being sold all over
India. He also urged for the BIS to make ISI-approved helmets compulsory.
The bureau said in its response that such a request
should come from the road transport ministry. In 2008, the ministry had
constituted a committee and written to the BIS about bringing ISI helmets under
the mandatory list.
"We are already examining all aspects in detail in
the light of various Acts and rules for finding ways for their effective and
practical implementation," the ministry said in the RTI reply.
Riders often use locally manufactured, non-ISI headgear
in Delhi and other parts, mainly as a facade to avoid prosecution.
"Most would settle for a helmet of an ordinary
company as they come cheap. Customers generally tend to buy helmets to avoid
paying fines to the traffic police and not really to avert accidents. We advise
but most don't listen. The threat to life is perhaps the last thing on their
minds," said Abid Hussein, a helmet dealer at Lajpat Nagar Market.
SIX OUT OF TEN HELMETS 'OF INFERIOR QUALITY'
If some retailers are to be believed, of every 10 helmets
sold each day, six are of inferior quality. ISI standards for helmets are
approved after certain tests like impact absorption, resistance to penetration,
rigidity and dynamic test of retention system apart from audibility and
visibility.
As per the bureau's IS-9973 rule, the visors used in the
helmets also have to meet ISI benchmarks.
Non-ISI helmets do not meet the life-saving requirements.
Roadside vendors usually convince customers that they are selling ISI-standard
helmets.
But a branded helmet manufacturer with BIS-approved
product doesn't use stickers or labels. Roadside vendors simply paste ISI logos
on the helmets. The ministry's committee recommended that mandatory ISI marking
scheme should be implemented to eradicate the thriving substandard helmet
market while also suggesting "heavy penalty" for its effective
implementation.
"For reducing the cost, specifications related to
quality for safety cannot be compromised," the panel had said.
Share of two-wheelers in mishaps jumped from 28% in 2014
to 36 % in 2016 across the country. Most fatalities are blamed on the riders
not wearing helmets or using substandard ones. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988,
makes it mandatory for all two-wheeler riders to wear ISI-marked headgear. The
penalty at present is Rs 600 for the first violation. But implementation is
patchy and use of non-ISI helmets was hitherto not an offence.
"Wearing a helmet that is not as per standards is
like not wearing one at all.Making use of ISI helmets mandatory is essential to
save the precious lives of two-wheeler riders in the country," says
Ullhas.
Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act says, "Every
person driving or riding (otherwise than in a side car, on a motor cycle of any
class or description) shall, while in a public place, wear protective headgear
conforming to the standards of Bureau of Indian Standards: Provided that the
provision of this sections shall not apply to a person who is a Sikh, if he is,
while driving or riding on the motor cycle, in a public place, wearing a
turban."
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