 "Instead of helmets, towels and scarves around the faces of two-wheeler drivers is a common sight")
The International Road Federation (IRF) has submitted a proposal to the government to remove the goods and services tax (GST) charged on helmets, a report published in HTAuto said. The IRF expressed concerns over the rising number of deaths of two-wheeler riders because of not wearing helmets. The federation has raised the demand for exempting helmets from GST, expecting that the decision will result in better road safety. As things stand, helmets are priced including 18 per cent GST in India.
In a report released on Tuesday, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said that India registered more than 461,000 road accidents in 2022 which resulted in 168,000 deaths. Out of this, around 50,029 people who died were riding two-wheelers without helmets. More than 70 per cent of those who died were riding the two-wheeler.
Usually, usage of helmets is limited in countries where two-wheelers sell more than four-wheelers, the HTAuto report said. India has laws in place that prohibit riding two-wheelers without helmets, however, violations of this rule happen on a daily basis. This is not limited to small towns but is also evident in large Indian cities.
The report also said that two-wheeler riders prefer to buy the cheapest helmet available out there, which in some cases does not meet the safety requirements in case of an accident. The President of IRF was quoted in the HTAuto report as saying, "IRF strongly recommends that there should be no GST on helmets. This will help in making standard helmets more affordable for the masses and discourage them from buying helmets of substandard quality."
Section 129 of the Central Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 mandates the wearing of helmets for all two-wheeler riders. Violation of this traffic rule has provisions of a penalty of up to Rs 1,000 in Delhi. Repeated violations can also lead to suspension of the driving license of the rider for three months.
The national capital, Delhi, is among the leading cities regarding non-adherence to the rule of wearing a helmet. According to Delhi Police data cited by the report, more than 100,000 challans were issued to two-wheeler riders within the first four months of the ongoing calendar year.
