[ruzbehxyz]

The government wants to introduce safety measures for child passengers riding pillion on motorcycles and in this regard, it has come up with a draft notification that has mandated safety harness for carrying a child between the age of 0 and four years.

“The driver of a motorcycle shall ensure the following safety measures while carrying a child between the age of 0 and 4 years, on the vehicle as a pillion, namely – for children below four years, safety harness shall be used for attaching the child to the driver of the motorcycle,” the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in the notification.

Safety harness is a vest to be worn by the child, which should be adjustable with a pair of straps attached to the vest and forming shoulder loops to be worn by the driver. This way, the upper torso of the child is securely attached to the driver. A feature by which this is achieved is by attaching the straps to the back of the vest and crossing the straps over the vest so that two large crossing-over loops are formed that pass between the legs of the passenger, it explained.

Also, the driver should ensure that the child pillion passenger aged between nine months and four years must wear his/her own crash helmet which fits his/her head or wear bicycle helmet till such time that the specifications are prescribed by the BIS.

“The speed of the motorcycle with the child upto age four years being carried as a pillion, shall not be more than 40 kmph,” it added.

The MoRTH has also asked for objections and suggestions to these draft rules, if any.

Source: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com...le37163989.ece

[abhishek46]

The Proposal is a step in the correct direction.

The Major impediment, as per my experience, is the lack of good quality helmets for young kids.
The choices are very limited, especially for less than 3 year olds.

[TusharK]

The government of India has issued a draft notification that states riding 2-wheelers with children below 4 years of age as pillion at more than 40 km/h will be illegal. Such a violation will attract a fine of Rs. 1,000 and suspension of driving license for 3 months.



The government has also proposed the use of a safety harness to secure a child to the rider. The safety harness and the protective gear has to be lightweight, adjustable, waterproof and durable. It should be able to support up to 30 kg.

The new rule has been proposed keeping in mind the safety of children, as currently, there are no regulations of this kind in India.

Source: ET Auto

Link to Team-BHP News

[aargee]

This is 2018 report stating Wrong-side driving took 24 lives daily in 2018; I'm positive it should be nearly doubled by now

Search the YT & there're tons of them; the evidences are right there in the video, yet what happens to those involved in the road rage to wrong side driving/riding?


And I'm fed up hearing the new rules of govt safety norms on road & I'm tempted to say, as if they really care!!

[dailydriver]

I can imagine the glee with which our traffic cops will receive this news; a veritable gold mine has been unearthed now .

However, every two wheeler rider should ponder over the actual safety of carrying kids less than four years of age as pillions. It isn't safe in any way, even at less than 40kmph.

Anecdotally speaking, I took a break of nearly a decade from two wheelers because I was warned in time by a good Samaritan that my kid was dozing off on my Splendor while I was passing through a tank bund!

On a lighter note, would the experts on the forum kindly enlighten us whether the rule would apply only if the child is riding pillion?

For, most less than four year olds would mostly be sitting on the fuel tanks of bikes or standing in the footwell of scooters - thus technically remaining out of the purview of this law .

[darkfantasy]

IMHO, a child below the age of 4 years has no place in a two-wheeler.
And if present, the safe speed limit is ZERO.
No amount of safety harness is going to make a difference.

[MaheshY1]

The problem is definitely not the speed.

I think the first problem is too much ego. I have seen men who could easily afford a used Nano or WagonR riding with their wives and 2 kids on a brand new temp registration Bullet/Classic/Thunderbird/...
Say what you want about the Nano's safety, but it's infinitely safer (and more comfortable) than anything on 2 wheels.

Another thing I noticed is wider scooter seats. I used to go off-roading with my 3-year old kid pretty much every weekend. He wore only Bobster eye protection. But, I never allowed anyone in my family to let him ride pillion on the scooter. The seat is too wide compared to the Navi's. And there are no grab handles for a 3-year old. The Navi has skinny grab rails.

Lastly, the lack of decent safety kits for kids. My son is 6 now and we manage with whatever we can find. He wears a Vega kids helmet with Oxelo knee, elbow and wrist armors with high-ankle boots. The Vega helmet is the only full-face helmet we could find in India. The 'jugaad' kind of does the job. I can't afford to import gear for him without a trial.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Another new scheme for looting the common man.

They will never understand that the person who is travelling with wife and/or little kids on a two wheeler is doing so because of lack of better options.

The underlying problem of crumbling public transport will not be solved, but all kinds of programs will be created on priority to monetise every bit of road usage as if it is a privilege.


Exactly the kind of use for which the Nano was originally envisioned.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

The government wants to introduce safety measures for child passengers riding pillion on motorcycles and in this regard, it has come up with a draft notification that has mandated safety harness for carrying a child between the age of 0 and four years.

Attachment 2223749

Definitely a step in the right direction.

But I do wish they would focus also on more bigger issues that are more easily implemented (and relatively more cost-effective)

- like the woman in that picture sitting sideways on the scooter/bike. Till date I can never comprehend how can the rider or the passenger feel safe in such a position, especially given today's traffic and higher (avg.) riding speeds.

- Or the basic fact to stop allowing plastic bowl type of helmets to be work (as they do in Bangalore).

- Or a nation-wide rule that both rider and passenger has to wear a helmet without any exception, than a state based decision that varies across the country.

And so many more...

[rajivr1612]

Disregarding social status, there comes occassions when one has to travel with a kid on two wheeler. I knew I had to based on my circumstances, so I bought a Mother Care safety harness for my son when he was around 4-5 years old for occasional rides. I continued to use it till I was confident that he will hold on to me tight - till around 7 years. Thereafter I stopped using it. Now he is 10. I still keep it in my scooter to use if need arises. Ofcourse during the early years I didn't make him wear full face helmet, but a normal cycling helmet, but later on I got him a open face helmet for local errands.
However, as BHPians rightly said, the police will be licking their lips in anticipation of a goldmine.

[BoneCollector]

The Motor Vehicle Act has been amended to provide safety to a child being carried on a 2 wheeler. This mainly pertains to child up to 4 years, nothing has been said about over 4 years.

In a country, where adults don't follow basic traffic rules, I wonder how these rules are going to be implemented.

Link

[theabstractmind]

A very good initiative. Hope it is implemented well.

I rarely take my kid on a two wheeler. Have always been scared of what if? I make him wear a cycling helmet and sit in the front if at all I need to take him on a two wheeler, never on the pillion.

In fact, pillion riding for kids should be disallowed at least until they are about 12 or 13 years. Until that age their bodies are not developed enough to balance themselves in case of emergencies.

[Nalin1]

In India, these rules are also pronounced as blah, blah, blah !.

Helmets are still struggling to get the respect they deserve .

[shancz]

The government should realise looking at our unfortunate top rank in world accidents of all sorts that problem isn't in the lack of rules but their enforcement.

They should think about adding this rule only after they have ensured that driving on the wrong side, jumping signals, cutting lanes, overspeeding leads to immediate apprehension, fines and suspension of license which actually means something and results are visible on ground.

Till then let people live in peace, someone is traveling with a kid on their two wheeler already has enough troubles in life to deal with.

They can mandate a harness and should actually provide them on spot and charge them for it, fining isn't fare in this case.

[GrammarNazi]

Hope to see an aggressive awareness drive for a reasonable period of time before penalties are sought from the public.

Helmet(s) & Safety harness should be offered with every bike at the time of sale. For existing users, Markets need to develop/source good quality children's helmets & harnesses, so an incentive should be provided for the same since this is going to be a large scale requirement.

If done hurriedly, IMO it'll turn into another un-implementable law just being used to bully & penalise selective sections of citizens. (Because WHO can monitor if a bike speeds over 40kmph even with given provisions).

Heckle me if you may, but saying one absolutely must travel below 40kmph even with a safely harnessed & helmet-ed kid, in a poor country like India is like effectively denying them meaningful mobility.