Safety first: Now crash helmet, safety harness to be mandatory for children below 4 years on motorcycles

New Delhi: The road transport ministry on Wednesday notified new rules to make the use of safety harness and crash helmet mandatory for children below the age of four years on motorcycles.

The new rules state that the speed of a motorcycle with a child up to the age of four years being carried on the pillion will not be more than 40 kmph.

These rules will come into force after one year from the date of publication of the Central Motor Vehicles (Second Amendment) Rules, 2022.

"The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, vide notification dated February 15, 2022 has amended Rule 138 of CMVR, 1989 and has prescribed norms related to safety measures for children below four years of age, riding or being carried on a motorcycle," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.

"This has been notified under Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act, which mandates that the central government may, by rules, provide for measures for the safety of children below four years of age, riding or being carried on a motorcycle. Further, it specifies the use of a safety harness and crash helmet. It also restricts the speed of such motorcycles to 40 kmph," the ministry said.

The government also provided the specifications of the safety harness that need to be followed till the time they are prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

For children below four years, safety harness shall be used for attaching the child to the driver of the motorcycle, the ministry said.

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.

As per the notification, the safety harness needs to be lightweight, adjustable, waterproof and durable. It should be of heavy nylon or multi-filament nylon material with high-density foam and sufficient cushioning. The safety harness should have the capacity to hold weight up to 30 kg.

"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 and child sits on the seat of the two-wheeler," the ministry added.