In a move to strengthen road safety for children, the Centre has notified the rules for carrying kids below four years on motorcycles. In a notification dated February 15, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways amended Rule 138 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 and prescribed safety measures for children between nine months and four years, riding or being carried on a bike.

The notification specifies the use of a safety harness for children below four years, which will keep the child attached to the driver of the motorcycle. The safety harness is an adjustable vest worn with straps by the child. The straps help in attaching the child to the biker. 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.

Under these specifications, the safety harness needs to be light weight, 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.

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The ministry also said the child pillion passenger should wear his own crash helmet or a bicycle helmet till the time the specifications are prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

Further, the rules specify that the speed of the motorcycle with the child up to age four years should be restricted to 40 kmph.

The ministry had come up with a draft notification for these rules in October last year. The government announced that Section 129 of the Motor vehicles Act had been amended by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019. Section 129 of the Motor vehicles Act mandates that the government may come up with measures for the safety of children below four years of age riding of being carried on a two-wheeler, especially a bike.

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

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First Published:Feb 16, 2022 3:45 PM IST