Ahead of Feb 1 deadline, three-fold surge in sale of ISI mark helmets

With the police setting a February 1 deadline for ISI-marked helmets, there has been a sudden surge in their sales in the city.  

According to market estimates, there has been a three-fold  increase in sales in the last four days.

Umesh Baheti of Ryder Auto Accessories, a wholesale dealership on JC Road, said the sale of ISI helmets has gone up three times and retail outlets in the city and Bengaluru Rural district are buying helmets with ISI mark.

He said that while he sold an average of 3 to 3.5 lakh helmets a day, the sales have now gone up to 10 lakh a day.

The sales are now even higher than in January 2016, when helmets for pillion riders was made compulsory. He said most people then bought substandard helmets, just to avoid getting fined by the traffic police.

Mohammed Irfan, a retail dealer in R T Nagar said he used to sell 50 helmets a day. In the last four days, however, he sold between 200 and 250 helmets a day. Irfan is even considering opening a few outlets in other parts of the city.

Baheti said helmets with fake ISI mark are sold openly and BIS officials are not monitoring them. He said customers who are misled by the fake ISI mark may not get compensation from insurance companies in case of an accident.

Bhanu Prakash who uses a high-end bike said he uses helmet conforming to European standards which are much higher than ISI. His helmet too costs 10 times more than Indian helmets, but he wondered whether if authorities consider it legal.

Meanwhile, Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic) R Hithendra clarified on half helmets. "We will issue a detailed note next week on which helmet is legal and which is not. There is no mention of half helmet or full helmet but every helmet should have an ISI or BIS mark."

Meanwhile, in a CSR initiative, insurance companies have started handing over 

ISI helmets to their policyholders.

Exide Life Insurance Company has ordered helmets with ISI mark for their policyholders.