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In India, helmets are still considered an unwanted necessity, something which is adopted to protect yourself from hefty fines rather than the head. But the fact remains that wearing helmets may not reduce accidents but definitely reduces the risk of fatality in an untoward incident. In recent years, a certain section of riders have started investing in good helmets prioritising safety.

Off late, consumption and demand for premium helmets has increased. This consumer behaviour syncs with the passenger vehicle and twowheeler sales as well, with more and more people opting for premium, more expensive helmets that provide an added layer of protection.

Steelbird, the market leader of helmets in India, has started ramping up its production for both mass and premium offerings. In a brief interaction with Rajeev Kapur, Managing Director of Steelbird Helmets, Express Drives learnt about the various processes involved in manufacturing a helmet. We also got to know about the certain headwinds in  the helmet market which will give direction to manufacturers in the near future.

Complexity of Helmet Manufacturing & Testing

Kapur revealed that each Steelbird helmet undergoes at least two years of intensive research and development followed by testing and trial before it goes on sale. He repeatedly stressed on how complex both the helmet manufacturing and its testing processes are. He outlined  the importance of raw materials in manufacturing—from ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) fibre, polycarbonate, antiscratch chemicals, and paints to EPS Expanded Polystyrene) liners, straps, and even antibacterial treatments.

Manufacturing helmets involves injection molding machines with fixed parameters and no changes are allowed without “intense testing.” Kapur assured that the organization has a strict policy: no one is allowed to alter production settings unless rigorous tests are carried out. He further revealed that the thermoforming process for helmets is dense, the thickness is minimal, and yet the helmet must meet stringent safety criteria.

Standards Compliance & Testing Methodologies

All helmets sold in India need an ISI certification as a mandatory requirement. However, there are other global standards that helmet manufacturers have started complying with. These include DOT (USA), ECE (Europe), and Snell (Motorsports). These standards are limited to premium helmets. Steelbird happens to be one of the few homegrown brands to offer helmets with the abovementioned certifications, depending on the model.

However, Kapur admitted that all standards including ISI share similar fundamentals revealing about 80% requirements for these standards overlap. Impact values known as G values differ in each standard based on assumed motorcycle speeds. In India, helmets are tested around 60 kmph. The DOT standard covers speeds up to 120 kmph, whereas European standards consider bikes going 300 kmph or more. 

In the U.S., DOT and Snell standards emphasize longduration, highspeed safety. On other hand, in Europe where riders often exceed 300 kmph, stricter impact and penetration resistance are required. Kapur claims that ISI is already “very safe”, but Snell (US) is the most stringent, catering to highspeed professional riders. On the contrary, riding speeds in India are lower, hence ISI suffices for most.

Market Trends & Future Outlook

While Steelbird has invested heavily in the premium segment, Kapur believes the market is still driven by helmets priced below Rs 1,000. While helmets priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 will see a rise in market share in coming years, Kapur is of the opinion that premium helmets priced above Rs 5,000 will remain less than 1% of the market. Also, sales of imported helmets may have increased but they are mostly driven by brand affinity rather than mass needs.

Need for awareness

Despite an increase in helmet sales, Kapur said 95% of the helmets seen on Indian roads today aren’t even ISI certified which is worrying reality. To spread awareness about the need for proper ISI certified helmets, Steelbird produces educational videos made in 8 languages (including Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, and English) to explain helmet technologies and safety features for its YouTube channel.