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-   -   Helmet BIS standards revised; now lighter, airier (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-safe/200283-helmet-bis-standards-revised-now-lighter-airier.html)

According to a media report, helmets on sale from next year onwards will be lighter and airier. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has amended helmet regulations in India to make them more user-friendly.



Considering some of the main reasons why bike riders do not wear helmets, the new rules have reduced the maximum weight of the helmets from 1.5 kg to 1.2 kg. It is also mandatory for all helmets to come with ventilation holes. The road transport ministry will also make it mandatory for all helmets to get BIS certification. This will ensure that the standards will be met and the sale of low-quality helmets will become illegal.

The new rule will come into effect from 15 January 2019 and all helmet manufacturers will have to comply. It is reported that in 2017, more than 15,000 people lost their lives in road accidents as they were not wearing helmets. The new rule is claimed to ensure that the helmets will have the required strength to protect the skull and head in case of an accident.

Source: TOI

Link to Team-BHP News

Good that they made the BIS certification mandatory. That's the only thing positive I see in the move. I don't care about the number of holes my helmet has or the weight in grams. Wearing a helmet is safe riding practice and if someone practises it, they will always do it - regardless of holes or weight. And also vice versa- those who are offenders and don't give two hoots about their own lives; this news means nothing to them.

Regards,
Saket

Plain stupid.

Max weight 1.2kg?? Any decent SNELL helmet weighs about 1.6-1.7kg at least. (Unless it's made out of carbon). Looks like they're encouraging the use of half-face lids.

This rule makes most ECE helmets and ALL Snell helmets technically illegal in India. Who are they to stop me from wearing a Snell or ECE helmet?

I'd have preferred some stringent crash ratings -- in terms of maximum shock transmitted to the head -- to be part of the new BIS norms. A full face should've been mandated. Instead, we're getting lighter helmets. While I agree that any layer is better than no layer, I think I know where those weight savings are going to come from.

Hopefully, the helmets will also be tested against IS4151 requirements. That's the Indian equivalent of Europe's ECE 22.05. Just like DOT, ISI is also a self-certification that you can claim to have met unless proven otherwise.

Here's Ryan Kluftinger of Fort9 explaining the sorry state of DOT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BUyp3HX8cY

This is welcome, however design execution will be poor due to short timelines.

Very few Indian helmets are that heavy & with reduction in max weight, it would only mean incorrect choice of materials and layers in the helmet. Recipe for safety compromises.

Hope this applies only to Indian manufacturers and not to imported helmets.

How can the rule of maximum weight be enforced !

Will the traffic policemen carry weighing balance with them at traffic intersections? This seems to be typo or needs proper explanation. To me it seems minimum weight instead of maximum so that better / high quality helmets will stay in compliance and not go against the law.

How come a well built 1.7 kg full face helmet cannot be used? Globally helmets are approved against any of these standards - DOT, ECE 22.05 and SNELL and nowhere there has been upper weight restrictions of 1.2 kg.

If the weight has been reduced from 1.5 to 1.2 kg; it means even a well built helmet of 1.2 kg can apply for BIS / ISI certification and if approved it can be sold. The lower weight will not result in outright rejection.

Because of the way Indian businesses think & work, I'm worried.

Generally, lighter weight = more modern / sophisticated materials without compromising structural strength.

Indian businessmen will see lighter weight as an opportunity to use lesser of the same material, and thus save costs :Frustrati.

In one sentence, the helmets are going to be Maruti'ed.

I have an HJC and a Bell. Both are SHARP 5 star rated and both weigh over 1.5 kg. There's just no way these cheaper helmets will be safer with weight loss. It will be just like how Maruti used to cut weight of its cars sold in the Indian market with no damn given about safety.

To make matters worse, the stupid govt. has made selling safer helmets illegal and the (kangaroo) courts have ruled that the insurance claims can be rejected if a rider dies wearing a safer helmet.

Totally nuts and amateurish way of implementing serious safety aspects. To make helmets more friendly / popular for users you come out with specs that will not have anything to do with safety, which by the way is the primary reason for wearing a helmet!

Is there any regulation on the type of fasteners? The double D strap helps to ensure that the helmet is fastened well, everytime. The other fasteners run a risk of breaking/jamming.

But then, if one looks around those wearing helmets, one may find most of them not being strapped.

I hope they won't ban sales of foreign brands.

Indian bureaucracy are fans of bans!

Looks like an indirect ban, for the short term atleast -

A recent notification issued by the Road Transport and Highway Ministry states that manufacturing, storage and sale of non Indian standard (non-ISI) Helmets for two-wheelers will lead to arrest without warrant.

Interestingly, Kapur adds in his statement that even the leading international brands who were exporting helmets to India as per European and US standard will now have to adhere to ISI standards. They will not be able to sell otherwise.

Read the full article here -

https://www.motoroids.com/news/stora...-imprisonment/

Oh please wake me up from this nightmare. Are we progressing as a Nation or otherwise going towards Stone Age? This would have been such a simple decision but seems to be unnecessarily made complicated. I read the news link and it does state max weight of 1.2 kg.

So in terms of Mr. Kapur, EU and US standards are lower than ISI? So that they need to adhere to ISI standards which if I perceive is lower their quality. My LS2 helmet weighs 1.5 kg and does not feel like a heavy melon propped on my head. Instead it feels good, comfortable and safe than the Vega I had been using for few years.

Like mentioned in previous posts here, this looks like a decision made out of the blue without giving it any thought. At least there should have been some info on how they are going to deal with foreign safety standard helmets.

https://www.autocarindia.com/auto-bl...met-ban-409303

Came across his nicely written article on the ban. It is definitely a welcome decision to stop the sale of roadside helmets but the ban on internationally certified helmets is nonsensical, specially if the ban is geared towards reducing road fatalities involving 2 wheelers in India. My blood has been boiling since April and I for one will not trade my HJC for any ISI certified helmet. I have the right to my safety. We should also send our feedback regarding the ban before it is brought into effect (60 days) to js-tpt@gov.in.

Cheers.

In a very unexpected and extremely unprecedented move, the Ministry has responded for the above article, with a very positive response! clap:

Full article here - https://www.motoroids.com/news/non-i...orted-helmets/

Amazed at such response from the Govt. Certainly doing the things the right way.