Ensure compliance of order on bicycle reflectors: Avon Cycles appeals to BIS
The Director of the Managing Department at Avon Cycles, Onkar Singh Pahwa has made an appeal at BIS Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to ensure respect for the quality control directive on the mandatory use of reflectors for bikes to protect cyclists from injuries.
The Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety ordered the installation of mandatory reflectors in the form of 10 by ISO 6742-2 on adult bicycles that were new from September 1st, 2016 to increase cycling visibility and ensure their safety. Then, a quality control order (QCO) by the BIS Act and the BIS Registration Regulation on the same was put into force on July 1, 2016, to ensure that the direction was followed in its letter and spirit by the BIS.
Pahwa explained, “Despite the QCO mechanism in place, a significant number of bicycle assemblers/ manufacturers and/or dealers are reportedly violating reflector compliance by resorting to affixing an inadequate number of reflectors, inferior quality of the reflector, invoicing kids instead of adult bicycles and recycling reflectors by dealers.” He also said that it hurts bike manufacturers that are compliant and non-compliant, causing unfair competition, and could also not fully utilize the new reflector capacity in India.
Pahwa stated that his MORTH GOI statistics confirm the death of over 4,000 cyclists killed in accidents on the roads every year in India which is a source very alarming. This is why the compulsory reflectors measures are specifically designed to stop such deaths, which are mostly affecting the poorer groups that makeup society. said.
“It is therefore requested that the BIS Certification ensure enforcing bicycle reflector compliance in letter and spirit at a pan-India level at the reflector manufacturers, bicycle manufacturers/assemblers and dealers so that the objective of preventing accidents of cyclists is eventually achieved. This issue must be addressed in an urgent manner to ensure that remedial actions are concurrently taken in a mission setting,” he said.
