The director of the Managing Department of Avon Cycles, Onkar Singh Pahwa, has made an appeal to BIS Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in order to guarantee the respect of the quality control directive concerning the use of reflectors on bicycles to prevent cyclists from getting injured.
The Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety required the installation of reflectors that were mandatory in the shape of 10 in ISO 6742-2 for adult bicycles which were in use from September 1, 2016 to improve cycling visibility and guarantee their safety. Then an order to control quality (QCO) pursuant to the BIS Act and the BIS Registration Regulation on the same were put into effect on July 1st 1, 2016, in order to make sure that this order was followed in its word and in its spirit. BIS.
Pahwa said, “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.” The official also noted that it is hurting bike manufacturers who are compliant as well as non-compliant and causing unfair competition and they are also unable to make use of the new reflectors in India.
Pahwa said in his MORTH GOI statistics confirm the deaths of more than 4000 cyclists who die in road accidents each the year across India which is of alarm. This is the reason why the mandatory reflectors measure is specifically made to prevent deaths like these which mostly affect those in the lower rungs of the 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 dealt with quickly to ensure that corrective actions are taken simultaneously in a mission-based setting,” he said.