Topic Approved

Well to be honest, I was using such a helmet which I bought one day for 200bucks from a roadside stand. Reason for the purchase : I had to carry a pillion and was having only one helmet.....so to evade traffic cops and their friggin challans.... I bought the helmet. Then my ISi mark helmet got stolen and I was left with that 200bucks lid only.

Well then Dipankar bhaiyya (xbhpid:RX100.7050) have me a 5 min lecture over the fone and I decided that I should have at least a decent ISI mark helmet if not a Sparx griffin.....So that weekend I went to karol bagh and got myself an Aerostar lid.

Coming back on topic, most guys on 2 wheels on Indian roads use these helmets. Reason: For them helmets are not a protective gear that will save their head in case of a crash, It is but a medium to avoid lidless riding challans. These sort of cheap helmets will do more harm than good in case of a crash as almost all are made with cheap plastic not shock absorbing material, and that plastic will break off at the impact and pieces of plastic can cause some damage.

So all in all getting a cheap rs100-200 helmet is really not worth it. Better get an entry level ISi mark helmet for 500odd bucks.

+1 to that mate they just wanna escape from Cops and our Cops they are not at all bothered about these lids that's all

IMO nobody can Blame them for using such kind of lid, at least they Are using one still there are many educated Bugger's who hesitate to use one

I don't Know when they gonna learn

this is a good topic u started!!! most of the fatal accidents have been due to the neglegence of helmets in pune!!! we still dont ware a helmet out here!!! well i do and that too an isi marked!!! BUT PEOPLE LIKE MY DAD HAVE THIS ATTITUDE THAT ITS JUST A BURDEN ON UR HEAD!!! so they dont wera it at all!!!! zzzzzz cant help it!!! they just dont change!!!!!!

The Indian commuters are mostly concerned about, as everyone pointed out, the cops. Some are definitely concerned about safety and they too go for these helmets. Remember not everyone can afford a 2000 rupees helmet. Yeah, there are 800 rupees helmets to in the market but the general population wants to have something cheaper - All the time. That's our right and sole aim - save money, isn't it. It takes a lot to understand the trade-off between the life and cheap helmet but at the same time it allows the poor commuters buy a helmet. I know lot of people who earn 15,000 a month, have a 2 children family and a rented house with a scooter to take their family around. They are not ready to shell out that kind of money as we are expecting. But, on the other hand, a family man should rather be ready to shell out more money to get a better helmet since his life is most precious for the family. It is just a matter of negligence, ignorance and, moreover, lack of understanding. The casual behaviour that "it cannot happen to me" doesn't allow us to think so deeply over such a small yet critical issue.

On the other hand I think these roadside helmets are fine for people who really cannot shell out such money. I have personally used such a helmet for couple of years and two accidents. It has saved me. So, we cannot totally blame these helmets about their quality and usability. The problems are not the manufacturers or sellers. The problem is the consumer. They want it, they use it and that's why companies manufacture them and sell them. Don't blame these people. Blame the consumers. But, at the same time in an economy like India where we have people using a cheap 200 rupees helmet to some 27 grand ARAI lid, we need to understand that selling of cheap stuff imperative.

The only solution to this is educating people about the pros and cons of these helmet.

Btw, can people share their experiences about these cheap helmets. I have seen people bashing them but haven't came across much credible cases to blame these helmets. In most of the cases either the rider is not wearing the helmet or haven't strapped the helmet properly. I would like to know the "helmet failure" cases.

A nice thread started.
+1 to the starter.

I strongly oppose these cheap "plastic covers", yes this is what I call them.
I want to share two incidents with all you guys. The first being about my elder cousin who just came to Delhi for his job and asked me to drop to his interview location the next day. I enquired if he brought any lids, he replied negatively and said that we would buy one while going.
I was so disappointed (I wasn't a xBhpian then) that I ran to the nearest dealer of ISI marked helmets and bought a Studds Rhyno for him, I use Vega.

Second incident was my first experience of witnessing a body lying in a pool of blood.
It was G.T Road Ghaziabad when I scooterist was on the left side of the road talking on his cell phone (Scooter on stand), he was wearing a Rs 100 helmet and the cell was inside it. A truck was reversing and didnt noticed that person. BANG!!!!. You may imagine the left most part of the iron caging of the truck penetrated his helmet and his head....On spot.......


An urge and a sincere request to all bikers even those who are on scooters.
Please wear a lid that can save you from accident not from challans.
Think, you have a family, loved ones waiting at home for you.

THIS IMAGE ARE FOR THOSE WHO THINK THAT LIDLESS RIDING IS AN ACT OF COURAGE
All The King's Horses #2

P.S : People with weak heart don't see it

Guys,

Let me tell the accident happened recently in my native. One of the farmer around 40 he was riding with his wife to the town nearby. Recently the so called helmet rule was introduced on the town and while he was riding with out helmet and his wife was carrying that helmet on pillion. When they saw the police suddenly he asked to put the helmet on. unfortunately she put the helmet reversely while he was riding and he hit the lorry which was on opposite side. The two innocent ppl have gone now.

Whom should we blame? everywhere police getting bribe for not to wear the helmet? Or if the politician need money then they introduce the Helmet rule and after 2 months cancelling.

Or the government not giving the basic education. Why cant the government take the action against duplicates helmet? Its all money in democracy.

i feel companies/government should make helmets compulsory as a purchase with your two wheeler, and include the price of the helmet in the bike. No discounts nothing.

Two things that i feel should be made compulsory and should be challaned for also on bikes are rear view mirrors and helmets.

They should be mandatory.

As far as the cheap 200 bucks helmets are concerned, well its the indian superman mindset that nothing bad can ever happen to one, so whats the need for protection, why spoil your hairstyle, and how will that hot chick in the car next to you check you out if your face is obstructed by a dumb helmet... lol!!!

the 200 bucks helmets are there, because the market demand is there.. Can they be phased out? yes, will duplicates still pop up here and there, yes? can you convince a regular commuter to buy a 1000 bucks helmet? hell no!

Make it a compulsory purchase with your bike, atleast you will wear a safer helmet.

I got a MPA helmet gifted to my when i went to buy the R15, but when i went to buy the ninja, and i requested that i need a helmet to ride the bike home, i was given some local 200 bucks helmet!!! by the dealer!!!! so i decided to first go home, get my AGV, and then ride the ninja outta there!

Most of all.. its about the attitude of the public towards helmets. I still remember the year 2005 when Maharashtra govt. had enforced the helmet rule inside Pune, (which I religiously followed) and there were dharnas and morchas (english: processions) by educated people all over Pune that they WONT wear helmets.. finally forcing the govt. to take back the rule.

When people themselves don't care about their own lives, what can the cops/govt. do?

Not just the helmets... the lack of value for life is inherent in our mindset here in our country! You can count on almost everything for this. Hard compound tyres, pathetic brake shoe, gravel on the roads, dangerous potholes, electricity wires above our head...

well, we can write an encyclopaedia with the things we just don't care about. Why public infrastructure, let us look at our homes:

unsafe electric switches, unsafe plugging of wires in socket without using a plug, non-recommended gas pipes... there are numerous things that we do daily in a very unsafe way. How many among us wear seat belts religiously when in cars?

Just because nothing happened so far it wouldn't mean that you have overcome the chance of an accident.

It is not just the the so called "public attitude" we should discuss about. We should even discuss about how much we too are a part of this "public".

Anything cheaper shall be a compromise
You were plain lucky,
I have seen a case where a man refused to wear a helmet because the one in which he crashed, broke and pierced his head(enough to get him CT scans and a bed-rest for 6 months along with not so proper functioning brain)
Agree

I know we are pathetic

I too am thinking on the same lines ,but know for a fact, it shall never be implemented
This baffles me and leaves at wit's end

Can't a strict rule be made to stop this manufacturing?


^^the last two photos which i have posted are of jugad vehicles, any response for it?

The main problem is lack of awareness! "Helmets solve their purpose if they help you evade cops". Unless and until this mindset will not change, these cheap helmets will sell like hot cakes! Infact, I have a few friends who are not into riding. They are daily commuters, and no matter how much sense you try to fill in them, they only put on on the helmet when they spot a cop and the rest of the time it protects their elbows.

These helmets sell because we buy them!

The govt can help but cannot spoon feed us.

besides lack of awareness, the attitude is also the problem... ppl tend to take things for granted. many cap size helmets are also available which many love to wear so to have more air all around their face... one person told me, its very suffocating in full mast helmet...
perhaps the value of a good quality helmet only a rider/traveler can understand...

+1 to thread starter

Regarding preventing sale of these cheap helmets (coconut halves, as popularly called in kannada), the govt has ensured this by specifying only ISI marked helmets, so using such helmets is illegal

But considering the bigger problem, here are my view points

1.The total disregard for human lives is apparent in the way ppl cross roads with heavy traffic!! Even when the green light is on for the traffic to move, ppl want to cross the road!! Classic example of no patience

2. The 'Family Guy' will seat his innocent 2 or 4 year old on the tank and weave in traffic with great gusto, completely ignorant to the fact that if he brakes suddenly or is involved in a collision, the poor kid will suffer the most

As suggested by jd, I second the idea of compulsorily having to buy a helmet when a new two-wheeler is purchased. The two-wheeler companies can take up the initiative to further this idea and help us ignorant lot

Ride safe