HYDERABAD: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways recently issued a notification to control the proliferation of helmets sold without ISI certification. The notice prohibits the sale of non-compliant helmets and vendors found selling them will be punished them with two-year imprisonment.
The notification also calls for fines and imprisonment for helmet manufacturers who do not comply with the law. The ministry has given 60 days to the general public for giving feedback and it’s enforcement is planned from January.
“It always good to wear good quality helmets and any law that promotes this is a welcome move. But people should remember that wearing cap-sized helmets or non-BIS compliant ones is as good as not wearing anything,” says Anil Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
It may be mentioned here that a blanket ban was imposed in Bangalore this January. However, the ruling was withdrawn after the enforcement authority observed that it could not determine if a helmet adhered to ISI standards after only visual examination.
Reacting to this, T Krishna Prasad, Director General of Road Safety said,”It is the manufacturers who should responsible for checking helmets. There is no point of asking people to stop in the middle of a road and check if they are complying with the rule.” He said that there was adequate time for manufacturers to reset their manufacturing processes. He added that people needn’t worry about the notification.
Is ISI certification enough?
However, motor sport enthusiasts and those embarking on inter-state trips on motorbikes, raised concerns over the promotion of ISI marked helmets. They say that ISI certification does not guarantee safety and that there were international certifications that are better. “My safety concern, when on track, is of utmost importance and I know that an ISI helmet will not give me enough protection. ISI uses only a single padding protection inside the helmet while other helmets certified by the department of transportation in the US have two,” observed John Sudershan, a track racer. “ISI standard helmets would not serve the purpose for bikers as well,” he added.