Road ministry proposes 40 kmph speed limit for bikes with child pillion rider

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed to limit the speed of a motorcycle with a child up to four ages of age as a pillion passenger to not more than 40 kmph. The move aims to introduce safety measures for child passengers.

A notification from the ministry has also proposed that the driver of the motorcycle should ensure that the child pillion passenger, aged between nine months and four years, must have worn a crash helmet. "The speed of the motorcycle with the child up to age four years being carried as a pillion, shall not be more than 40 kmph," according to the ministry's draft notification.

Another guideline in the notification mentioned that the driver of a motorcycle should ensure that children below four years should be attached to him/her with the help of a safety harness in order to ensure the safety of the child pillion. A safety harness is like a vest which will be worn by the child passenger. The harness shall be adjustable and shall come with a pair of straps attached to the vest. It should form shoulder loops that shall be worn by the motorbike's driver.

Elaborating on the safety harness, the ministry explained that the harness will ensure that the upper torso of the child passenger is securely attached to the driver of the motorbike. "A feature by which this is achieved is by attaching the straps to the back of the vest and crossing the straps over the vest so that two large crossing-over loops are formed that pass between the legs of the passenger," the ministry further explained.

The Road Transport ministry has also asked for objections and suggestions on its draft rules, if any, from the stakeholders.

(with inputs from PTI)