Supreme Court’s ruling which makes it compulsory for two wheeler manufacturer to sell helmets along with the vehicles is a huge step towards ensuring safety for the bikers on Indian roads.
The apex court dismissed a plea by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and has instructed the manufacturers to sell helmets to buyers that are Bureau of Indian Standard certified.
Delhi witnesses close to 2,000 deaths a year due to two wheeler accidents. However Delhiites wear helmet not for safety, but just to follow the law. A young man on the bike said. “It’s the cost that matters, not quality. Police harasses us when we are caught without helmets, so we have no choice but to buy a helmet costing not more than Rs 100. It’s a formality”.
One of the reasons why Delhiites are not bothered about their heads can be found on visiting the Jhandenwalan pavement. A shopkeeper mentions that most of the bikers opt for cheap helmets “We have a variety of helmets ISI marked, non-ISI, expensive, cheap, plastic, fibre, branded, local we have got all. What is your budget?”
There are several non ISI marked helmets available at different prices here. One shopkeeper even said “It’s just a mark, quality is similar to the non-ISI brands”. He even went on to ask “When you have the option of buying a helmet for Rs 100, why spend Rs 450 and above for an ISI-mark?”.
Even the ones who wear their helmet leave the straps open. “Helmets are helmets. As far as they work with the traffic police, they’re okay, and sometimes I just forget to put the straps. Nothing intentional, mornings are just too hectic” said Dam Raj Singh who was spotted with a loose helmet strap. “It’s too hot to keep the helmet strapped all the time. And besides nobody wears the helmet while riding long distances and without noticing cops’’ said another biker.
According to Dr MC Mishra, chief AIIMS Trauma Center, “If you meet with an accident, while riding a bike without a helmet, there are 50% to 60% chances of suffering brain injury. Surviving a brain injury is very difficult, and even in case of survival, recovery is rarely complete. It may also lead to severe paralysis and chances are that the patient enters a vegetative state.” Thus poor quality helmets or leaving straps open accentuate injuries in the rider rather than providing protection. At a recent workshop he stated. “Just like we have vaccines for various life threatening diseases, we must look at helmets as vaccines that can prevent deaths”.
“The testing procedures ensure that helmets are first conditioned at extreme temperatures and then put to test on various parameters such as resistance to penetration by a sharp object, impact, audibility factor and rigidity,” said RK Saini of BIS. He also mentioned that several more helmet manufacturing companies will go for an ISO certification in the wake of the Supreme Court order.
“My friend and I rammed the bike into a divider near Outram lines. It was so severe that both of us were severely injured and bed-ridden for months. Thankfully, we were both wearing helmets, which saved us from death” shares Khalid Mobarak, who had met with a serious accident a few years back.
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