While both drivers and traffic police remain confused if substandard helmets will incur a fine as per a new regulation that took effect at the beginning of this month, poor-quality protective headgear is still widely available in Ho Chi Minh City.

People who drive or ride motorbikes without crash helmets or while wearing helmets incorrectly are subject to fines ranging from VND100,000 to VND200,000 (US$4.7-9.4), starting July 1, according to Decree 171/ND-CP dated November 13.

Wearing one’s helmet “incorrectly” includes: wearing a helmet without fastening the chinstrap, letting the fastened strap hang loose from the chin, and wearing the helmet in such a way that it can be taken off one’s head easily by pulling the front or the back of the helmet up.

Members of the public are also concerned that wearing substandard helmets is considered a violation of the regulation, as local media have somehow misinterpreted the decree.

But Hung, who sells helmets along a street near Phu Lam Park in District 6, asserted to a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter that there is no need to worry.

“I heard that there is no fine for wearing poor-quality helmets, so just buy them if you wish,” he said.

There are nearly a dozen similar helmet street vendors near the park who sell a myriad of products at a wide range of prices.

Products that are not really crash helmets and are labeled “protective headgear for walkers and bicyclers,” still enjoy good sales as they fetch only VND50,000 to VND70,000 ($2.35-3.29) each.

A qualified crash helmet is one that bears the CR (conformity to regulation) stamp issued by the Vietnam Certification Center (Quacert) and labels that include complete information regarding its quality and manufacturer.

Hung, a street vendor at Phu Lam Park, said he sells the stamped products.

Although the helmets have the required CR stamps, it turns out that all of the manufacturers are bogus and their company addresses are fake.

A man who makes and distributes fashionable helmets in Binh Tan District, which are favored by consumers due to low prices but considered unqualified products as per law, admitted to Tuoi Tre that he had to temporarily suspend production as authorities are tightening checks.

Phan Hoan Kiem, head of the HCMC market management agency, said it is sending forces to conduct surprise raids on helmet production facilities citywide to crack down on substandard products.

Last week the agency confiscated nearly 300 poor-quality crash helmets with dubious origins, Kiem said.

The officer said his agency has previously detected numerous cases of regulation violations at helmet production facilities.

“We checked around 300 facilities, and 290 of them were found breaching the rules,” he said.

“That’s 94 percent of all production companies.”

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