Non-ISI helmet ban is a welcome change and should kill the substandard helmet market. You should wear helmets to save your skull and not for challans!
Rules regarding helmets have always been controversial and confusing in India. Besides, a majority of careless riders buy substandard helmets just to avoid fines from the traffic cops rather considering keeping their skulls safe.
Authorities have now become stern and have imposed a blanket ban on non-ISI helmets. The new ruling for helmet quality control comes from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, India.
If you are wearing a helmet that doesn’t have a BIS certification/ISI mark, you will be liable for penalty. This regulation has been implemented with effects from 1st of June, 2021.
Penalisation will not only limit to the two-wheeler riders. Anyone who is actively involved in manufacturing, selling, storing, or importing non-ISI helmets will face a jail term of 1-year. They may also have to pay a hefty fine of 1 lakh INR or more, in addition
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The latest blanket ban on non-ISI mark helmets aims to stop the sales of fake and dirt-cheap helmets usually sold on the roadsides. We are talking about those non-branded helmets that are made with cheap polycarbonate with thermocol padding and low-quality straps.
Such helmets have no quality approval from BIS nor do they have a legit ISI mark on them. People buy such headgears for INR 300/- or 500/- just to avoid traffic challans. If case of an unfortunate accident, these low-quality helmets will crack easily and instead of providing security they have cause higher damage to the rider’s head and/or face.
So, the new regulation will encourage commuters to choose a good quality helmet with ISI and BIS accreditation. Officially, as per the government claim, annually 300,000 people succumb to road accidents. If we consider the unreported incidents, the death figure can easily cross 1 million. This is disastrous and must be controlled.
What will be the fate of DOT and ECE-certified helmets?
While the ISI branded helmets have been made mandatory, it leads to a question. Does the new rule mark the DOT and ECE certified helmets illegal.?
Now, the government never deemed the foreign certified helmets as illegal. Many recognized outlets sell these branded and certified helmets. There are Indian automobile brands like Royal Enfield, TVS etc that sell helmets bearing dual certification of ISI as well as DOT/ECE.
There is no exact ruling in the MoRTH India’s notice directing not to buy ECE, DOT certified, or dual-certified helmets. To be on the safe side with compliance to the new helmet rule, we suggest you stick to helmets that have BIS certification and ISI approval.
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Mr. Sandeep Sood and Ms. Rajni Gandhi from Utprarit and TRAX, NGOs that work for promoting road safety among people have welcomed the blanket ban on non-ISI mark helmets. They believe that people will become aware of their own safety and opt for helmets with ISI mark and BIS certification. It will help in lowering the road accident casualties in India.
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Rajeev Kapoor, President of Two-Wheeler Helmet Manufacture Association hopes that the new rule will allow genuine helmet makers to sell quality headgears. In turn, the government can also benefit from that with the rise in revenue and GDP.
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-Swayam Prakash
