Helmet Laws in India

Why do you need to wear a helmet? We present a detailed discourse on helmet laws and fines for not wearing a helmet in India to acquaint you with the various legal measures striving to promote such forms of road safety.

Although quite a number of motorcycle drivers manage to follow the helmet mandates, significant confusion is observed regarding helmet usage by backseat passengers. This was reaffirmed by a study conducted before the emergence of the Motor Vehicle Act. According to this study, only 0.6% of motorcycle pillion riders wore helmets (4).

If you are one of those individuals having a dilemma if pillion riders should wear helmets, think again. Remember that backseat passengers are equally susceptible to injury in case of an accident. Thus, a helmet is just as useful for them!

It is compulsory for both riders and pillion riders to wear headgears while travelling. Failure to do so will result in a significant fine for not wearing a helmet, as specified for drivers.

The Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 was established to maintain the legal safety of the motorbike community. Over the years, it has undergone several amendments to make more inclusions and reinforce compliance.

The latest Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 included 63 new clauses, which stated increased penalties against an array of traffic offenses. One of these concerns was driving without a helmet.

Section 129 of this principal Act mandates every individual aged above 4 years to “wear protective headgear” when riding a motorcycle in a public area. As already mentioned, these helmet laws for motorcycles include both the driver and pillion rider.

These laws also mandate specific standards for the headgear or helmet to be used. These are:

• As per Section 129(a), a helmet must be built with such materials in such a shape that it must be capable of offering maximum protection from injury in case of an accident. 
• Section 129(b) mentions that the helmet must be fastened to the driver’s head or rider with firm fasteners, like straps attached with it. This ensures that this protective headgear does not fall off the wearer’s head in case of an accident.

Non-compliance with the laws mentioned above can subject motorcycle riders to a fine for not wearing a helmet worth Rs.1000 under Section 194D of this Act (5). Besides, this traffic offense can also cause you to get your driving license suspended for 3 months.

However, you can avoid the mandate of wearing a helmet if you belong to the Sikh community and you are wearing a turban while driving or riding a motorcycle on the road.

To help motorcycle riders adhere to these regulations and avoid a hefty penalty, several state’s RTO rules for helmets are derived from Section 138 (4) (f) of Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR).

This rule mandates all two-wheeler manufacturers to supply buyers with at least 2 BIS compliant headgears, for driver and pillion rider, at the time of vehicle purchase. You might face difficulties in registering your two-wheeler if your dealer fails to submit proof for the same to the RTO.

However, just possessing 2 helmets is not all you can do to prevent yourself from incurring penalties. The actual material and build quality of these protective gears are important factors to consider too.

After reading about these new regulations, you might be one of those people stuck with the question, “Is half helmet allowed in India?”

The answer is no.

Half helmets, as the name suggests, cover only half of your head and do not serve the purpose of protecting your head in case of an accident. The usage of half helmets is prevalent in most parts of the country, mostly due to the belief that they serve both the purposes of offering comfort and conform  to traffic laws. However, that is not going to be the case anymore.

As previously mentioned, Section 129(a) directs certain specifications regarding the manufacture of a full-face helmet. The government of India issued a notification mandating all helmet manufacturers to comply with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). These regulations specify certain important headgear characteristics like:

• The new helmet weight limitation was reduced from 1.5kg to 1.2kg.
• A helmet must have a minimum thickness of 20-25 mm with high-quality foam.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) mandated all helmets to have the ISI mark. Retailing helmets without this mark is considered a legal offense and must be immediately stopped.
• The eye-covering of all helmets must be manufactured with a transparent material so that it does not obstruct the rider’s vision in any way.
• Additionally, these headgears must also have passed prescribed BIS tests. These tests include impact absorption tests under varying weather conditions and at different speeds.

If you get caught using illegal motorcycle helmets and fail to meet any or all of the above specifications, it will result in immediate seizure and subsequent destruction of the headgear by authorities. Besides the users, sellers of such headgears will also face legal action.