Children as pillion riders must have helmet – Draft rules
The Road Transport Ministry has proposed new traffic rules in the Central Motor Vehicle Act. Driving two-wheeler with Children of the age below 4 years as pillion with the speed of more than 40 kmph is now a traffic rule violation.
The Road Transport Ministry has very recently put forward a new draft rule with the aim of safety for children by making changes in the Central Motor Vehicle Act. Driving two wheelers with Children of the age below 4 years as pillion with the speed of more than 40 kmph is now a traffic rule violation.
The following draft of certain rules further to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, which the Central Government proposes to make in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (aa) of section 137 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988), is hereby published as required by subsection (1) of section 212 of the said Act for information of all persons likely to be affected thereby; and notice is hereby given that the said draft rules shall be taken into consideration after the expiry of thirty days from the date on which the copies of this notification as published in the Official Gazette, are made available to the public;
Objections and suggestions to these draft rules, if any, may be sent to the Joint Secretary (MVL, Transport & Toll), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Transport Bhawan, Parliament Street, New Delhi-110 001 or on the email: [email protected];
The objections or suggestions which may be received from any person in respect of the said draft rules before the expiry of the aforesaid period will be considered by the Central Government. Draft Rules 1. (1) These rules may be called as Central Motor Vehicles (….Amendment) Rules, 2021. (2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. 2. In the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, in Rule 138, after sub-rule (6), the following sub-rule shall be inserted, namely: – (7)
On and after one year from the date of publication of these rules, 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: –
(i) For children below four years, Safety harness shall be used for attaching the child to the driver of the motorcycle. Explanation: Safety harness is a vest to be worn by the child, which shall 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. The protective gear including safety harness shall meet the following requirements till such time the specifications are prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act 2016: Specifications of Safety harness
(a) Light weight, adjustable, waterproof and durable;
(b) Heavy nylon/ multifilament nylon material with high density foam;
(c) Shall be designed to hold weight upto 30 kg
(ii) Crash helmet: The driver shall ensure that the child pillion passenger aged between 09 months and 4 years must wear his/her own crash helmet which fits his/her head or wear bicycle helmet complying with [ASTM 1447]/ [European (CEN)BS EN 1080/BS EN 1078] till such time that the specifications are prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act 2016.
(iii) The speed of the motorcycle with the child upto age 4 years being carried as a pillion, shall not be more than 40 kmph.