The Supreme Court of India has upheld the Delhi High Court’s earlier order which mandated every two-wheeler manufacturer to compulsorily include a helmet along with every new two-wheeler they sell in the country. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court last year against the Delhi High Court’s order.

SIAM argued that the Motor Vehicles Act already stipulated the use of a helmet by a rider while riding a two-wheeler and that the Delhi High Court’s ruling completely changes the existing rule of a helmet for a person to a helmet for every new vehicle.

The main problem of the new ruling as per Industry Officials is that the new rule will cause problems for those customers buying their second two-wheeler and those who already own a helmet, because it will force these customers to buy another helmet in addition to the helmets which they already possess. Another problem of the new rule is that it will force two-wheeler manufacturers to bear the brunt of the additional cost of providing the helmet with new two-wheelers, since most customers may not be ready to cough up the extra dough for the helmet.

The High Court’s ruling also states that two-wheeler manufacturers should only provide Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certified helmets to their customers and that customers should be provided with the helmets only by the dealers.

The ruling of the Supreme Court does have some flaws in it like forcing customers to buy a new helmet even if they have one and not allowing customers to purchase helmets from shops in the open market. But, the bigger picture is that instead of implementing rules to force customers to buy helmets even when they have one already, it should be ensured that two-wheeler riders and pillions across the nation are forced to wear a helmet whenever they are aboard a two-wheeler.

Source – Hindu Business Line

Dr. Ken Philips’s son, who is an avid motorcyclist, was the driving force behind Dr. Ken’s desire to create a motorcycle helmet that replicated the natural defense mechanisms of the head. The ability of the skin over the skull to slightly slip over it, normally moderates the sudden rotary motion of the head which typically leads to severe brain injuries, even when the skull is shielded from the impact.

The helmet design of Dr. Ken Philips adds an artificial membrane to the outer surface of a conventional helmet, which replicates the slipping of the skin over the skull.

As a Doctor, Dr. Ken knew about head injuries, but he did not know much about the engineering that goes into a helmet. But, after 15 long years and spending £1m on research, he came up with the Philips Head protection System (PHPS).

The first range of helmets featuring the Philips Head protection System (PHPS) has already hit the market. Lazer helmets have introduced the new Lazer Superskin range of helmets featuring the new PHPS technology starting from a price range of  around £200.

In the tests conducted by the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, the PHPS equipped helmet dissipated the effect of rotation occurring during an impact by 60% when compared with a high-end conventional helmet.

Source – Times Online