Late in July, the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways released a notification laying down new norms for two-wheeler helmets under which all helmets will require ISI certification and the 1.2-kg weight limit has been dropped. Helmet manufacturers in India will not be able to manufacture, stock, and sell helmets that are not certified by the Bureau of Indian Standard’s (BIS) safety standards. The new norms will come into effect in March 2021. The two-wheeler helmet manufacturers association has welcomed the government’s decision, lauding it as a positive move towards curbing the sale of non-standardised helmets.
Rajeev Kapur, MD, Steelbird Helmets & President, Two Wheeler Helmet Manufacturers Association, welcomes MoRTH’s latest notification, stating that the decision is in the public interest to enforce the regulations of the BIS.
“As per WHO statistics, about 3,00,000 people died in 2016 in road accidents in India and about 40% of these accounted for two-wheeler riders without helmets,” Kapur said, adding: “Similar data by MoRTH shows that in 2018 about 43,614 people died in India in road accidents who were not wearing a helmet while riding a two-wheeler. The implementation of mandatory ISI marked headgear is a major step for the safety of two-wheeler riders and will go a long way in reducing the huge number of two-wheeler accidents across the country.”
Also read: MoRTH drops 1.2 kg weight limit on helmets: What this means for international helmet brands
“We are going to save millions of lives. A huge number of riders are dying on the road for not wearing a helmet or wearing a non- ISI marked helmet. At the time of the accident, if the rider is wearing a sub-standard helmet, it can crash and enter the head causing brain hemorrhage that could prove to be fatal. After the Government’s notification, each and every rider will be compelled to use an ISI marked helmet. No one will be permitted to manufacture, stock, sell and import helmets that do not have an ISI mark, if they do so it will be considered a criminal offence.”
