VietNamNet Bridge – Low-quality motorbike helmets are being sold throughout cities despite offering very little protection, according to market watch inspectors.

Market watch inspectors check the quality of helmets in a store on Pho Hue Street, Ha Noi. Poor quality helmets are common in Viet Nam, posing a danger to motorbike riders. (Photo: VNS)

Thuy, owner of a helmet shop in Ha Noi's Hang Dau Street, said that helmets made from cheap and light plastic and which offered next to no protection, were the best sellers in her shop.

"They (the helmets), covered in an array of colourful designs, are not as heavy as better quality ones. What's more, they are really cheap, about VND40,000 (US$1.9) per product," she said.

Thuy admitted that she had no idea regarding the safety element of her products.

"Few care about the safety stamp and the origin of helmets, basing choices on light weight, fashion and the cheap price instead," she said.

University student Do Bich Ngoc, said that she was well aware that she was wearing a low-quality helmet, but that it didn't bother her seeing as she always drove ‘very carefully'.

"If you obey traffic rules and drive slowly, everything will be fine," she said.

Ly Ngoc Thang, head of HCM City's Market Watch Team No3A, said that fake and low-quality helmets had dominated the market during past years.

Thang added that, although it was easy to recognise low-quality helmets, it was hard to fine helmet producers.

"Producers call their products by all sorts of names including sport hats or hats for pedestrians. Safety standard criteria are only applied on "motorbike" helmets," he said.

Market watch teams are not allowed to fine vendors who sold low-quality helmets due to local authority and police regulations. All they are able to do is to fine shop owners who lacked business licences with VND400,000 ($20) and those who failed to sell quality products with VND1.5 million ($75).

"Fines are quite low. It only takes a couple of days selling products to make the money back," Thang said.

Recently, a group of helmet enterprises from HCM City, reported the production and trading of low-quality helmets to the Government Office and the Ministry of Science and Technology, asking for measures to tighten control over products.

In order to deal with the situation, Thang said that increased cooperation between traffic police and local authorities would certainly help ease the problem.

Motorbike pillion passengers are required to wear proper motorbike helmets by law if they are to escape being fined for traffic violation.

Local authorities planned to take charge of vendors selling helmets with the market watch cracking down on fake products, Thang said.

Deputy Director of the General Department of Standards, Measures and Quality, Tran Van Vinh, said that his department had reported and submitted a proposal to the Government aimed at listing helmets as goods which required certain production standards while banning all kinds of fake helmets.

The HCM City Market Watch Department seized and destroyed 4,300 helmet covers and 50 roles of cloth used for producing fake helmets at two businesses in District 12's Tan Thoi Hiep Ward last month. All helmets were made from waste plastic.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News