Bhubaneswar, Aug. 2: In cricket they say, don't give away your wicket cheaply. The wisdom for two-wheeler riders should be - don't give away your life cheaply. But not many in the city are listening.

Ever since the "no helmet, no petrol" rule came into force here, the use of sub-standard helmets has been on the rise. Two-wheeler riders appear over-confident about their driving skills and more concerned about the cost of helmets than their safety.

Asked about the reason for wearing a sub-standard helmet, Rakesh Pradhan, 28, an employee of a steel firm and resident of Palasuni, said quality headgears were expensive.

Although he admitted that helmets save lives, he added they were uncomfortable to wear. "Most branded helmets are heavy and particularly uncomfortable to wear during summer," he said.

Software professional and GGP Colony resident Abhisek Kar, 30, said his one-year-old expensive branded helmet was recently stolen from Saheed Nagar and since then he has opted for cheap one. "I am confident of my riding skills and do not need to spend Rs 1,500 or more on a premium helmet," he said.

With a lack of an enforcement mechanism to ensure two-wheeler riders wore proper helmets, many are buying cheap, poor quality products that provide no safety in case of a mishap.

Section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, states that motorcyclists must wear helmet conforming to the standards of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police (Traffic and Public Order) Regulations, 2008, also stipulate wearing ISI-marked helmets.

"However, since neither the transport department nor the traffic police enforces these rules strictly, two-wheeler riders don't care about the type or quality of helmets they use on the roads," said S. Maqbool Ali of the Prevention of Accidents Society, Odisha.

He said a proper helmet must provide full protection to the rider's head and should be strapped on properly so that it does not come loose in the event of a road mishap.

A BIS official at the city office said they could only check the quality of helmets that had ISI certification.

When asked why, he said helmets did not feature among the 92 products for which ISI certification was mandatory. Therefore, there is no legal bar in selling non-ISI helmets and neither can there be a crackdown on its sale. The most that cops can do is to ensure that two-wheeler riders wear ISI certified helmets.

A doctor who handles road accidents victim almost every day also cautioned against the use of sub-standard helmets.

Dr Dipak Mohapatra, 72, a trauma care specialist, said most accidents that result in head injury are fatal.

"In my experience, almost 50 per cent of fatalities involving two-wheelers are a result of a severe blow to the head that damages the brain. I have noticed that those who use substandard helmets or 'half' helmets, which do not protect the neck in the event of an accident, suffer grievous injuries to the head," he said.

A 2010 Supreme Court order had made it mandatory for two-wheeler manufacturers to provide helmets along with the vehicles. The apex court had clearly stated that the helmets must conform to BIS norms. However, two-wheeler dealers in the city do not adhere to the norms.

Durga Nayak, 36, an engineer and resident of Unit IX, said two-wheeler showrooms here did not insist on buying helmets.

Gagan Singh, 28, employee of a two-wheeler showroom at Saheed Nagar, said manufacturers did not provide helmets along with two-wheelers. "Also, customers do not want to buy expensive helmets from two-wheeler dealers," he said.

A man selling helmets on the roadside at Master Canteen Square said the sale of headgears had gone up after the implementation of the "no helmet, no petrol" rule in the city.

"I sell affordable helmets and people buy them to avoid being fined and get the petrol for their bikes," he said. Cheap and sub-standard helmets worth anything between Rs 100 and Rs 500 are on sale at his roadside outlet.

Owner of a shop selling helmets at Saheed Nagar said an ISI-marked helmet comes for Rs 700 onwards. He added that there were few takers for such helmets. "I sell 10 to 12 such helmets in a week," he said.

Inspector in-charge, traffic police station, Bhubaneswar, S.K. Bal said the focus of the traffic police was on ensuring 100 per cent compliance to the norm of wearing helmets while riding two-wheelers.

"Special drives are being conducted by the traffic police to ensure two-wheeler riders wear helmets. However, we haven't planned to undertake a drive as yet to check the quality of these headgears," he said.

Bhubaneswar regional transport officer Lal Mohan Sethi, however, said two-wheeler dealers had been directed to adhere to Supreme Court directive on helmets.

"The transport department will conduct a special drive shortly to check whether people are using quality helmets and also wearing them properly," he said.

Not using helmets conforming to ISI standards is a violation of motor vehicle norms, Sethi added. However, that does not deter motorcyclists from getting insurance in the event of an accident.

Santanu Patnaik, 38, area manager of a private insurance firm, said getting claims did not depend on the quality of the helmet the person was wearing at the time of the mishap. "Accident insurance claims involving two-wheelers involves survey of the vehicle. We also ascertain whether the person was wearing helmet or not. However, it doesn't matter whether the helmet is ISI-certified or not," he said.