Only ISI Helmet, says Bangalore Traffic Police. EDIT: Order withdrawn

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by payeng

For the sake of Implementation of the law: The Best Solution according to me would be to ask the brands selling to be sold in India get Registered with Bureau of Indian Standards.

If only these brands have official presence in India. many helmets are personal imports, so getting ISI will put a severe restriction unless the brands decide to come to India officially. I think best will be to allow helmets above certain standards to be used in India, akin to the no homologation above certain CC rule, which is in place currently.

For the sake of Proper Implementation of Safety Standards: The other step would be to CLEAN the market of dubious quality ISI marked helmets/brands.

Yes - a move to make sure no non ISI helmets are manufactured\sold in India - that would be very welcome.

That's not the point. The issue that I foresee is leaving the law open to interpretation and hence opportunity of misuse/exploitation.

Agree - so, why don't we legalize some internationally accepted standards?
Like the law specifies the ISI standard, let the law specify DoT,ECE,SNELL and SHARP standards too, with a provision to revise the standards every 3 or 5 years, so that we don't lose out when one of these standards gets updated internationally.

P.S: Needless to say that I have no doubts over the safety provided by these reputed brands. I am only trying to highlight the other side of the problem that the Govt. has to deal with.

Agree to that, but my point is, just because it is tough to implement, banning all other standards is not the solution - which I think you are also in agreement with.

--Anoop

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

I'm not qualified to perform comparative tests and show it to you. Also I do not know if weight alone dictates safety. If you are qualified in this subject, please show me that an ISI standard helmet (not just marked) is unsafe compared to a ECE22.05 standard helmet. Only thing I know, after having read both the ISI and the ECE22.05 standards, they are almost same. If only we had some NCAP kind of test results available.

As far as I know ISI test limits on helmets mimic the older generation of ECE standard, so yes it may not be as superior as modern ECE standard but is definitely up there. That said, ISI mark is honor based which means that the helmet manufacturer is expected to carry out tests and deem his/her helmet as adherent to ISI standards. If our business morals, ethics and liability laws were strong, this may have been acceptable however that is a grey area and we all know how things work in this country (where there is a buck to be made or saved, it will be). Now would you actually trust that every ISI sticker bearing helmet, is safe?

[payeng]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

I think best will be to allow helmets above certain standards to be used in India, akin to the no homologation above certain CC rule, which is in place currently.

There is a difference: These Motorcycle Brands have their registered offices in India.

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Agree - so, why don't we legalize some internationally accepted standards?
Like the law specifies the ISI standard, let the law specify DoT,ECE,SNELL and SHARP standards too, with a provision to revise the standards every 3 or 5 years, so that we don't lose out when one of these standards gets updated internationally.

Posted earlier that: Expecting our policemen to understand these different standards and have the ability to identify these brands would not be realistic.

[Nalin1]

Cops have suddenly become very concerned about the quality of the helmets .

Let them ensure that people wear helmets in the first place. What if 3/4/5 are on a two wheeler (yes, I have seen!)? Will they book them for not wearing helmets or oveloading ?

[payeng]

Food for thought: I don't think all Policemen wear helmets.. leave alone ISI Marked ones.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Here's a small test (non scientific) done by a Bangalore based Riding Gear outlet called "Let's Gear Up"

https://youtu.be/NTBQHJ7e0e8

[dailydriver]

I am going against the tide here. The police are just trying to implement the law of the land. They are the Executive branch of the Government; bound to their duties by the rules brought in by the Legislature and supervised by the Judiciary. Caught in the proverbial nut-cracker, they can only do so much.

As is evident in the discussion so far, people are unwilling to wear helmets in the first place. Even when they wear one, they do it out of the fear of getting caught and fined and not out of their concern for personal safety. Metal, non-metal, plastic and a variety of materials make up the contraptions that are passed off as helmets.

In thread after thread, we have seen and discussed how majority of the victims of road accidents are two wheeler riders. The police too know this and want to find a way out of the death trap. Mandating ISI helmets is a very good first step in this regard. When they say only ISI helmets, they actually meant only ISI helmets, not the other duplicate/substandard ones. It can easily be surmised that the better than ISI, DOT certified helmets (for instance) weren't under their radar. The average traffic cop on the street couldn't be expected to keep track of all safety standards prevalent the world over. For him the equation is pretty simple:

ISI = Good
Non ISI = Bad

However, as soon as the Addl Commissioner of Police realised that the aforementioned equation can't always be correct, he wrote to the people whose domain it is to make the rules. Fair action, isn't it? In the absence of equivalence of standards or homologation, this is the maximum he can do.

The place where this drive initially began (Mysuru), is administered by a cop who is as down to earth and pro-people as any good Samaritan can ever be. Saving people's head was the prime and perhaps the sole target there. Things can't be much different in Bengaluru.

We as a nation are generally disrespectful and suspicious of cops; and in a lot of cases, rightfully so. But this is a case of law binding the hands of the law enforcers themselves. The police are as clueless and helpless as all of us are.

Hope necessary amendments are brought in to avoid unnecessary confusions and complications. The sooner it happens the better.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

We as a nation are generally disrespectful and suspicious of cops; and in a lot of cases, rightfully so. But this is a case of law binding the hands of the law enforcers themselves. The police are as clueless and helpless as all of us are.

You make very good points, but for the quoted there is a reason why we are suspicious in this case as well. It is necessary for the police to first stop all the law breaking that happens on our roads that endangers others' lives, and do this consistently. If I was to see that happen for a year or two, anything the police then do to enforce my taking care of my own life would be a lot more credible.

That said, any rider that does not wear a helmet is being recklessly stupid - no argument on that score.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

It is necessary for the police to first stop all the law breaking that happens on our roads that endangers others lives, and do this consistently. If I was to see that happen for a year or two, anything the police then do to enforce my taking care of my own life would be a lot more.

If past is any indication, it is unlikely to happen.

Law breakers would be caught, traffic offenders booked and people compelled to toe the line. But it would neither happen everywhere nor in a consistent manner. Policing, like every other government enterprise, is a product of the individual officer in charge of delivering the service. A good one interprets the law to the best interests of the public at large and is generally a harmless guy, if not an absolute do-gooder (I am deliberately not talking of the bad cop; not very relevant here). However, in the absence of fixed tenure and because his position is dependent on the whims, fancies and hunger of his masters (they who must not be named), his actions are very often short lived.

Even seven decades after independence, we are shackled by the remains of the colonial police system. Police Reforms have largely remained on paper and paper alone.

On a different level, the disconnect between the Police & Legislature, the Police and Transport Authorities, the Police and Civic bodies and most importantly the Police and the Judiciary will not allow benevolent policing in our midst.

In the instant case, even if the transport department agrees to let the supposedly superior but ISI-less helmets off the hook, unless and until relevant changes are made in the IMV Act, the issue will remain a bone of contention. If Bengaluru police are doing it today, there is no reason why the Chennai or the Gurgaon police will not do it tomorrow.

Long term vision and holistic approach are the only things that can bring in some change. Till then, the cop-public relationship will remain a rotten and recurring version of Tom and Jerry.

[binand]

This drive is off:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...le22538963.ece

They figured that they wouldn't be able to distinguish between a genuine ISI-marked helmet and one with a fake mark by simply visually inspecting.

[The Brutailer]

Originally Posted by binand

This drive is off:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...le22538963.ece

They figured that they wouldn't be able to distinguish between a genuine ISI-marked helmet and one with a fake mark by simply visually inspecting.

Need more clarity on this. Drive is off on all helmets (especially those cap ones) or only those DOT certified ones? If it’s off on ALL helmets then it’s very ignorant and preposterous. Bad governance.

[Sawyer]

Indeed, very silly. Make a start, and penalise those that don't wear any helmet at all. Getting everyone to wear a certified helmet can be the next step, or that can even be left to the judgement of users - after all it is well known that even a half helmet with ISI certification is nowhere as safe as a full face helmet, so users that are educated use the full face ones these days.

But first, let's see everyone wearing a helmet that just looks like a helmet as step one. That itself is major task.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by binand

This drive is off:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...le22538963.ece

They figured that they wouldn't be able to distinguish between a genuine ISI-marked helmet and one with a fake mark by simply visually inspecting.

Excellent move. We cannot expect a roadside policeman to distinguish between a DOT/ECE imported helmet and a cheap ISI knockoff. This move would have resulted in endangering the safety of people who actually value their noggins.

[binand]

Originally Posted by The Brutailer

Need more clarity on this. Drive is off on all helmets (especially those cap ones) or only those DOT certified ones? If it’s off on ALL helmets then it’s very ignorant and preposterous. Bad governance.

From what I understood, the drive is off because BIS told BTP that it is not possible to identify a compliant helmet by visual inspection alone. But the older system of enforcement will continue; in which if you are caught for another offence, then having no helmet would be tagged on to all others and fine levied accordingly.

With the BIS taking such a stance, BTP's position is not tenable. Hence they had to back off the drive. Now the ball is in the BIS's court.

[shatananda.k]

I am going . Anyway, there are a couple of observations.
Just got back to Bangalore from Mangalore. Majority of the 2 wheeler riders do NOT wear a helmet at all. This was on the highway. So ISI or not makes no difference.

Next, we need better infrastructure coupled with better road sense. Helmets alone might not have avoided multiple deaths in the city due to the potholes (craters).