ISLAMABAD: Though the institutions concerned have failed to developed and implemented safety standards for vehicles in the country during the past 75 years, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has finally developed safety standards for helmets of motorcycle riders.
As per available documents, the Automobile National Standard Committee, which is looking into formation of standards for the auto sector, has recommended “Pakistan National Standard for Helmet” for inclusion as a mandatory items’ list at Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA). Once the proposed standard is included in the mandatory list, the national standard body would be authorized to check the manufacturing of helmets as well as the imported ones.
According to official sources, the PSQCA, an attached body of the ministry, had started developing the safety standard of helmets on the direction of Lahore High Court (LHC) after noticing the increasing number of accidents of the two-wheelers causing losses to lives on a daily basis.
Though there are hundreds of different types, colors and shapes of helmets available in the market both locally manufactured and imported, almost all of them do not meet the safety standards. They, as per the officials, are substandard, making no difference in riders’ safety.
Earlier, the officials claim, tests and study were conducted by the MoST which revealed that millions of helmets both locally manufactured and imported are not up to safety standards. Not only are the helmets poor in quality but in most of the accidental cases, they have proved to be dangerous for the wearers.
As per the study in around 24 cases of motorcycle accidents in Karachi, the lives of riders were lost due to serious injuries to the head due to substandard helmets. The study further suggests that the safety standards used in the making of such helmets in the world are largely ignored in Pakistan.
The issue of safety of motorbike riders was first raised by Young Doctors Association in Punjab who approached LHC in 2018. Despite lapsing over three years, the concerned ministry and departments were unable to implement a safety standard of helmets in the country.
Following LHC directives the sale of fuel (petrol) to motorcycle riders was banned in various cities including Karachi, Rawalpindi, Lower Dir and Quetta. However the same could not continue to be implemented for lack of government’s interest.
The safety and quality issue of helmets was first discussed in a Technical Committee of PSQCA in Lahore in 2018, in which all stockholders including the motorcycle manufacturers were invited to give their input on the safety of motorcycle riders. A number of safety methods in the helmet including required density of form inside the helmet and 6 critical points which could be life-threatening in accidents if ignored during manufacturing etc were discussed in the said meeting.
In Pakistan, motorcycles comprise about 75 percent of registered vehicles. The Motor Vehicle Ordinance (MVO) and National Highways Safety Ordinance (NHSO) require wearing a helmet by the rider as well as the pillion.
A survey conducted in September 2018 about how many motorcyclists wear a helmet shows that among 124,216 motorcycle riders in Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta, only six percent wore and strapped their helmets, 28 percent wore it, but did not strap it; five percent carried it but did not strap it on; one percent carried it but never used it, and the rest never used a helmet at all.
