Officials target sellers of substandard helmets

Many found selling headgears without BIS certification

Safety first: Deputy Commercial Tax Officers R. Ravichandran and M. Kavyavarman inspecting the quality of helmets sold by a roadside vendor on East Coast Road in Puducherry on Tuesday.

A day after the police launched an intensive drive to strictly enforce the helmet rule following the expiry of the nearly three-month deadline, officials from the Commercial Taxes Department carried out inspections on roadside shops selling sub standard helmets in the city on Tuesday.

The Government had made wearing of helmets mandatory from May 1. A team led by R. Ravichandaran and M. Kavyavarman, Deputy Commercial Tax Officers carried out surprise inspection in over 15 roadside shops across the city to check the quality of helmets.

“Most of the helmets sold on the roadside are not subjected to any quality checks and are of sub-standard quality. The roadside vendors procure them at cheap rates from Delhi and also tamper with the raw materials. However, motorists are unaware about their safety and buy sub-standard helmets from the roadside which may cause serious injuries during accidents,” a senior official said.

Raids to continue

This is a violation under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules. The raids would continue and stringent action would be taken against those traders who sell helmets of sub-standard quality and above the Maximum Retail Price, the official added.

Sensing the demand, vendors had opened make-shift shops on all arterial roads in the city stocking up heaps of headgear.

The helmets of several brands were available from ₹200 to ₹350. While the police were enforcing the rule strictly, apparently they were going easy on the stipulation of the BIS mark helmets.

“The helmets should be of specific quality and adhere to BIS guidelines on safety requirements since the intention is to prevent fatalities and injuries during any road accidents,” said an official.

“The demand for helmets is more than what is available for the vehicle riders. There are families where more than two persons own vehicles. It is a problem for them to get helmet and the insistence that the pillion riders should also wear headgears adds to the hardship and drains the sources of the family,” said N. Ravisankar, a motorist.

The government should relax the rule that pillion riders should also use the helmet according to a section of motorists. The direction that helmet must be used in all the areas is indeed causing practical difficulties. It can be restricted to those using vehicles on highways and arterial roads, a motorist said.