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Centre makes helmet, safety harness a must for kids riding pillion
Children above four years are already covered under the Motor Vehicles Act. In 2016, the Centre amended the Act to make it mandatory for children above 4 years to wear helmets while travelling on two-wheelers.
From February next year, children between the ages of 9 months and 4 years, riding pillion on two-wheelers will have to wear a helmet and a safety harness attached to the rider, the Union transport ministry said on Wednesday. The speed limit for two-wheelers with children on them will have to be a maximum of 40km per hour, a significant development in a country where three-quarters of all vehicles on roads are scooters or motorcycles.
Children above four years are already covered under the Motor Vehicles Act. In 2016, the Centre amended the Act to make it mandatory for children above 4 years to wear helmets while travelling on two-wheelers.
After seeking comments from the public since October last year, the ministry issued a final notification amending the Central Motor Vehicles Act on Tuesday. However, it stated that these rules will come into effect after one year from the date of issuing the notification, which means they will be implemented from February 15, 2023. Transport officials said the time is needed for companies to start manufacturing safety harnesses and helmets for children as per standards specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Any violation of the rules will invite a fine of ₹1,000 and a suspension of driver’s licence for three months. At least 75% of the 277.1 million vehicles in India are two-wheelers, according to government data (Vaahan dashboard). In Delhi alone, of the 13 million registered vehicles, at least 7.3 million are two-wheelers.
“For children below four years, safety harness shall be used for attaching the child to the driver of the motorcycle… Safety harness is a vest to be worn by the child, which shall be adjustable, with a pair of straps attached to the vest and forming shoulder loops to be worn by the driver. This way, the upper torso of the child is securely attached to the driver,” read the final notification dated February 15, 2022.
The new rules make it mandatory for the driver to ensure that a child pillion rider aged between nine months and four years also wears a crash helmet, failing which right-sized bicycle helmets complying with European standards will be acceptable.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has been asked to study and specify standards for the safety harnesses and crash helmets for children, a transport official said. “Till the time BIS comes out with the Indian specifications for these items for children, the European standards are to be followed,” he said. “BIS will come out with the prescribed specifications soon.”
The safety harness for children should be lightweight, adjustable, waterproof and durable, the ministry recommended.
Piyush Tewari, founder and chief executive of SaveLIFE Foundation, a non-profit working to improve road safety, said that each day, at least 30 children are killed on India’s roads, many of them as pillion riders on two-wheelers. “We welcome the move, but also suggest that adult accountability be fixed as well...”
