Maharashtra asks SIAM to Follow Two Helmets per Two-Wheeler Rule or Face Blanket Ban on Registration

The Transport Commissioner of Maharashtra has despatched a letter to SIAM, dated fifth March 2020, for making certain its members (two-wheeler producers) to observe the foundations laid by courtroom and Motor Vehicle Rules (MVR) which is to supply two helmets of BSI requirements to the patrons, per each buy of a two-wheeler.

In the letter, the Transport Commissioner has written that if this isn’t adopted, the registering of two-wheelers within the state might be stopped with none intimation.

This growth comes after the order of the Maharashtra High Court within the matter of a Public Interest Litigation, PIL 9 (2019). The Court took a severe offence for not following its order of supplying 2 ISI-certified helmets to patrons of two-wheelers and it has made an opinion to ban the registration of two-wheelers in Maharashtra.

The PIL acknowledged that the Rule 138(4)(f) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, which says that on the time of buy of a two-wheeler, the producer should provide protecting headgear conforming to specs prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, beneath the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986.

However, within the present state of affairs, the producers are violating the legal guidelines and should not supplying any protecting headgear on the time of the sale of the two-wheeler, additional growing the specter of deadly highway accidents.

The sellers who’ve been summoned and made a celebration to the PIL have given an affidavit to the courtroom saying that eight main two-wheeler corporations are supplying the car to them with out the Helmets and therefore, they don’t seem to be in a position to present the identical to the customer. The courtroom has directed that an intimation of the identical is to be despatched to all these eight producers, together with SIAM, to strictly implement this rule.

The courtroom has directed the Transport Commissioner to make sure that the prescribed ISI helmets are provided by the producers. Failing to take action, the courtroom will ban the registration of two-wheelers in total Maharashtra.

Not sporting helmets killed greater than 3,500 riders and over 1,700 pillion riders within the state final yr. With this, the state was among the many high three states with the very best highway deaths on this class. Also, the state has not accomplished nicely in complying with legal guidelines concerning using seatbelts. More than 600 motorists and over 1,000 co-travellers died as they weren’t sporting seatbelts final yr. In this group, the state is among the many high 5 in India to have the very best highway fatalities.

In Mumbai alone, using and not using a helmet was a explanation for concern in 2016 with 4.24 lakh challans being issued. It had dipped to 1.45 lakh challans in 2017 and 1.14 lakh in 2018.