NEW DELHI: The sale of non-ISI helmets for two-wheelers will be an offence by this year end as government will make it mandatory for all helmet manufacturers to obtain Indian standards certification from Bureau of Indian Standards ( BIS ) for the headgears in its bid to reduce road fatalities.

“The BIS has informed Supreme Court panel on road safety that they can complete the process in six months,” a senior transport ministry official said on Wednesday at an event organised by the road transport where Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Dharmendra Pradhan launched a mobile application, toll free number and a driver training scheme to check road deaths.

Officials from BIS said the government has to notify that all two-wheeler helmets must have certification by the agency. Once this norm comes into place, no one will be able sell helmets without getting BIS certification. Sale of helmets using fake ISI mark will attract high penalty for the violators.

At present, less than 100 items fall under the compulsory certification regime. Availability of non-standard helmet at less price is one of the reasons why people prefer to buy them despite knowing that these are unsafe. Non-availability of standard helmets for different sizes of heads including for children in the market also remains a big concern.

An original ISI-authorised helmet can protect the skull to a large extent in case of even a serious road crash. Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act makes it mandatory for every two-wheeler rider to wear protective headgear conforming to BIS norms.

TOI in April last year had first reported how a government panel had recommended complete ban on production of non-ISI mark helmets. It has pushed for changing the design of motorcycle helmets to reduce the weight and make it less bulky without compromising the safety aspects.

According to World Health Organisation, motorists without helmet are 40% more likely to die from a head injury. Government records show at least 10,135 fatalities for not wearing helmets in 2016. “How many people died for not tying up helmet properly or poor quality helmet is not known. That number could also be high,” K K Kapila of International Road Federation said.

