ith the enforcement of compulsory helmet wearing rule nearing, two-wheeler riders are making a beeline to the helmet retailers, pushing sellers to place orders for fresh stocks.
For those, who waited it out till the eleventh hour, they are faced with lack of choice over colour or size.
Though the Madras High Court passed the order early in June, retailers made a cautious move, and waited until a week ago to place orders. “We did not want to make a huge investment until we were sure of its enforcement.
There was always a possibility of somebody moving an injunction,” says Sudarshan, whose auto spares showroom has now been turned into an exclusive helmet showroom.
“Earlier, we used to sell two helmets a day. In the past week, the sale has gone up, sometimes going up to 50 a day,” he says. For now, the stocks are fast depleting in his showroom that has sourced the headgear from Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, and Madurai.
Racks are lined up with helmets of all hues of red, black or burnt orange; and there is an occasional pink helmet for women.
Yet, black is the preferred colour, or so the retailers here believe.
At the retail outlets, the price of helmet starts at Rs. 750. “That’s of low quality and the good quality helmet costs from Rs. 900 onwards,” says Govindaraj, a salesman.
Strangely, women are seen picking up low quality ones with lower prices, says another retailer. There are only two standard sizes, 580mm and 600mm wide. There are no supplies for children.
On the other hand, helmet stalls laid out on the pavements have sourced their wares from Bengaluru. “We are left with only 10 helmets, and there is no stock even with our supplier in Bengaluru,” says a roadside helmet seller. “The wholesale price of a helmet is Rs. 300 and the same is sold to us at Rs. 600,” he says.
With fancy helmets in the market, it is difficult for those wearing spectacles to wear a helmet, says Rizwan. He has just purchased a helmet, and will wait for a week till he knows for sure if his wife will have to wear one while riding pillion.
For him, the biggest concern is whether his two school-going kids, who ride pillion, should wear one.
