Ban on tortoise helmets soon

Ban on tortoise helmets soon

KUALA LUMPUR: Half-shell helmets will soon be banned because they do not offer adequate protection for motorcyclists.

Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said the necessary laws were being drafted for the ban.


We are going to ban and confiscate them. They are not suitable for riding motorcycles,he said.
Onthe way out: Motorcycle shop worker Andy Sanjaya removing a half-shell helmet from the shelf in Petaling Jaya Tuesday. CHAN TAK KONG / TheStar

Suret Singh said the helmets also known as the tortoise or turtle helmets because its bowl shape resembles the shell of the animals and did not meet the safety standards.

He said the proposal would include seizing the helmets from the shelves of retailers.

These people are smart. Malaysians don't read labels, and retailers place.Not motorcycle helmet on the label and continue selling.

They tell us it is a toy helmet. There is no such thing as a toy helmet. A helmet is a helmet. he said.

Suret Singh also urged motorcyclists to change their helmets at least onceevery five years, as the material in the shell deteriorates over time.

Look at the manufacturing date when buying helmets, he said, adding that helmets that had endured impact or had been dropped should be replacedeven more frequently.

Since the helmet-wearing awareness campaign kicked off in December 2006, Suret Singh said some 50,000 helmets had been given out, with almost 20,000 defective or old helmetscollected in exchange.

The helmet-wearing rate in rural areas had increased from 40% to 90%, he said.

Nextyear, Suret Singh said the Road Safety Department, together with RotaryDamansara and the Automobile Association of Malaysia, would bedistributing child safety seats.

He said baby, child and boosterseats were important in minimising the injury sustained to childpassengers in the event of an injury.

Baby seats are meant forthose under one year, child seats for children between one and fiveyears, and booster seats for children between five and 10,he said.

Suret Singh was speaking to reporters after the soft launch of the Malaysia International Road Safety Exhibition (Mirex).