BIS-certified helmets made compulsory for two-wheelers

The government on Friday said only Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-certified helmets would be manufactured and sold in India for two-wheelers.

This would help in avoiding sale of low-quality two-wheeler helmets in the country, which would help in protecting persons involved in accidents from fatal injuries, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.

"The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways...has issued the 'Helmet for riders of Two Wheelers Motor Vehicles (Quality Control ) Order, 2020'.

"Protective helmets for two-wheeler riders have been included under compulsory BIS certification and the publication of the Quality Control Order," it said.

Following the directions of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, a committee was formulated to consider lighter helmets in India suiting the country's climatic conditions and that for ensuring compliance among citizen to wear the helmets.

The committee had experts from different fields, including expert doctors from AIIMS and also from BIS.

The committee in March 2018, after detailed analysis in its report, recommended lighter helmets in the country, and the ministry accepted the report.

According to the recommendations of the committee, the BIS has revised specifications through which it is expected to make lighter helmets.

The total number of two-wheelers being manufactured in India annually stands at about 1.7 crore.

The International Road Federation, a Geneva-based global road safety body working for better and safer roads worldwide, welcomed the road transport ministry's move to bring helmets for two-wheeler riders under the mandatory BIS regime.

"This much-awaited move means the sale of non-BIS certified helmets will be an offence once the notification comes to effect," K K Kapila, president emeritus of the International Road Federation, said.