Now a buyer of a two-wheeler will have to present a receipt of buying helmets in order to get their vehicles registered with the transport office.
In a bid to save lives, a notification issued by the State Transport Department on Tuesday said that if one buys a helmet anywhere across the State, the buyer will have to present a receipt for buying a helmet which fulfills the standards of Bureau of Indian Standards. The vehicle will be registered with the department only if the receipt for helmet is presented alongside.
Section 138 (4) (f) of Central Motor Vehicle Rule 1989 says that at the time of purchase of the two wheeler the manufacturer of the two wheeler shall supply a protective headgear conforming to specification prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards under the Bureau of Indian Standard Act, 1986.
Also, section 129 of Motor Vehicles Act 1988 says that every person driving or riding (otherwise than in a side car, on a motor cycle of any class or description) shall, while in a public place, wear protective headgear conforming to the standards of Bureau of Indian Standards.
The notification issued has been based on the two sections. Transport commissioner Faiz Aq Ahmed Mumtaz said, “This is to ensure that every rider wears helmet and more lives are saved in case of accidents.”
He added, “At present, many people do not wear helmet and even if they do, the quality is not good enough and does not protect the head in case of accident. If buying a BIS certified helmet is made mandatory for registering the two-wheelers, more lives can be saved.”
An official of the department informed that instead of making it mandatory to buy the helmet from the manufacturers of the bike, the department has left the option to choose the shop to buy helmet on the customers so as to ensure that there is monopoly of traders.
“If the manufacturer gives the helmet to the buyer they will deduct money for it too. However, if the buyer is getting a helmet of the same quality at cheaper rates in some other shop they can buy it from there instead of paying more to the manufacturers,” the official said.
The data of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) shows that in 2017, 443 people lost their lives in Jharkhand as they were not wearing helmets when they met with an accident while 253 were grievously injured.
