BRTA to set Regulations on uses of Quality Helmets

Motorcycle is the most used vehicle in Bangladesh, if we mention the figures in numeric then these will probably 37 lakhs and each of the biker is bound to wear helmet, they use too but most of those helmets failed to protect the bikers in the right time.

Related authority of the government expect, if the biker uses quality helmets then most of those bikers can make themselves safe from accident to face death or serious injury.

A policy workshop on “quality helmet use” was held at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) headquarters on July 4th where all stakeholders, including bureaucrats, police and road safety experts, took part and discussed the whole matter.

BRAC Director (Road Safety) Ahmed Nazmul Hussain told reporters, “A policy framework will be developed by combining all the suggestions received from the recent workshop. We will submit it to the government immediately and also to implement as soon as possible.”

He further said that, "We have recommended UN standard helmets for Bangladesh in the policy, which is not too expensive for the root level bike users."

Needless to say, more than 90% of bikers in Bangladesh only wear helmets to show off or obey traffic laws. Which are cheap in price and in no way standard on the matter of safety. Normally the price of these low quality helmets is 500-600 Taka but according to the draft policy the price of the minimum standard helmet is 1100 to 1900 Taka.
A recent study by the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) found that only 10% of motorcyclists and 2% of passengers in rear seat wear standard helmets that serve minimum safety.

"A quality helmet is very important because it can reduce the risk of death by 40%," said Professor Hadiuzzaman, director of BUET's ARI.
According to ARI, about 7% of motorcycle accidents occur in Dhaka and 93% outside Dhaka. Naturally, the number of deaths and casualties in these accidents is higher in rural areas than in urban areas because the use of motorcycles is higher in those areas and without any care of helmet regulations.

According to the report, 1,168 people were killed in motorcycle accidents in 2021, up from 1,097 in 2020. The number of accidents across the country is higher during the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday than at other times of the year. And then there are more motorcycle accidents than other vehicles.

The Road Transport Act 2018 states that drivers and passengers must wear helmets in right way but there is no complete explanation for this "right way". This time the new policy will clearly mention the proper use and implementation of helmets and also its quality.

It is to mention that every developed country in the world as well as our neighboring countries India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have their own helmet laboratories, "It's time to set up a BSTI helmet testing lab to prevent the importation of low quality helmets because a quality helmet can significantly reduce mortality," he said.

A senior official said the BSTI has decided to start testing the quality of helmets in private laboratories until a government laboratory is established.

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