Quality helmets pricier than bikes!

Believe it or not, one can now buy a helmet with the price more than his motorbike costs if one wants to maintain proper safety standard while riding.

Price of motorbike in Bangladeshi begins from as low as Tk 85000 while a high-end helmet can cost up to Tk1,25,000.

Helmets were not used much by motorcyclists earlier but its use has increased since the road safety movement in 2018.

Although the demand for helmets worth Tk1,500-Tk2,500 is the highest at the market, these are not of standard quality and can’t provide proper protection.

Recently uses and popularity of standard and premium motorcycle helmets are increasing day by day. And main buyers of them are youth. However, since the price of such helmets is higher, not many people buy them.

Standard and premium moktorcycle helmet prices range from Tk15,000 to Tk 1,25,000 and they maintain quality standard.

A helmet costs up to Tk 1.25 lakh

Importers and traders say the helmet market in Bangladesh is mostly import-dependent. Among the imported brands, Shark, X-Lite, Nolan, AGV, HJC, MT brand helmets are leading companies in the premium segment currently.

Besides, there are also STM, Yohe, Steelbird, Vega, Studds, Yema, and MIBK at the market which are also in demand.

Shark Helmet Bangladesh Commercial Agent AKM Abidur Rahman said they were introducing a premium segment Shark brand helmet in Bangladesh. It is one of the renowned helmet brands in the world.

The highest price of Shark brand helmet in Bangladesh is Tk1,25,000. The lowest price of such helmet is Tk15,000, he told The Business Post.

Highly-priced helmet user Md Ekramul Kabir said he had bought high-end helmets from a hobby of collecting premium helmets. He has world-class four to five helmets. Of his collections, two are of the most expensive Shark brand costing him over one lakh taka each.

Users of expensive helmets are those who buy them to match their personalities. On the other hand, there is also the issue of safety, he said.

Why so expensive?

The price is determined based on the helmet’s SHARP rating, safety standard, quality and materials, according to users and sellers.

Most of the helmets are imported from China while some are imported from India, Thailand and Indonesia, Sarwar Morshed, owner of Yohe International, one of the largest helmet importers in Bangladesh, said.

Raida Trade International CEO Mohsin Razu who imports MT helmets said if anyone wants to manufacture standard helmets, they have to maintain quality. Besides, the price depends on the safety issue, brand value, market policy and manufacturing cost.

Premium helmet user Ekram said the prices of expensive or premium helmets vary due to the SHARP rating. However, the price is higher if the SHARP rating is 5 out of 5.

Ohidul Islam Prince, senior executive and official country distributor of Scorpion, said all premium segment helmets are to be imported. So the price almost doubles when it reaches the hands of customers.

No compromise with safety issue

Prince said premium helmets do not compromise with the safety issue. Many countries have their safety standards. Producers have to obtain safety certificates from DOT, ECE 22.05 and Snell to sell their helmets.

The helmet made of carbon fiber is very light but strong like steel. If there is an accident, the Tk1500 helmet may not endure the onslaught but this carbon fiber helmet is not like that. It can absorb the force of an enormous impact, he said.

Claiming to have bought the first lakh taka helmet in Bangladesh, RM Rumman alias Piyash said he bought this expensive helmet with a few reasons in mind: its weight distribution is equal and even if the helmet is worn for a long time, riders don’t feel pain on shoulders and back.

Besides, the air circulation is very good and it is able to cancel wind noise. Even if the head sweats, fungus does not grow in foam pads and there is also a safety issue, he said.

Premium helmet user Ekram said the helmet that is available for Tk2000 to Tk4000 does not have good safety ratings. “It means it will give you protection from two or three types of impacts if you meet an accident but it cannot provide full safety,” he said.

But the helmet with five safety ratings can provide full protection, he said.

Helmet Market and Future Prospects

There are no actual statistics on the helmet market in Bangladesh. However, traders estimate that around two million helmets are sold every year and the growth is 10-15 percent.

The market size of the imported helmet is now more than Tk 500 crore, according to the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

A recent survey by the ARI shows that only 10 percent of motorcyclists and two percent of pillion riders use quality helmets although wearing standard ones can save them from fatal injuries.

Abidur Rahman said the helmets worth Tk1500 to Tk2500 are in high demand. The helmets of this range are about 85 percent of the total demand. Of the premium helmets, 10 percent buyers tend to buy helmets worth about Tk10,000 and the remaining 5 percent go for premium helmet.

Helmet traders claimed that the premium quality helmet trend started late in Bangladesh. But in the world market, it has been going on since the beginning. “Although we started late, its demand is increasing day by day,” said one of them. They think the future of the helmet market has very good prospect. If helmets were manufactured in the country people could buy good quality helmets at low prices, they added.

Meanwhile, Pran-RFL Group is ready to go into full-scale production of lifesaving gear helmets under the brand ‘Safemet’ at its plant in Narsingdi.

The manufacturing and processing giant said they are the first manufacturer of high-quality helmets in Bangladesh, which will ensure maximum safety for the users, particularly the motorcyclists and workers at risky construction sites.

“We are awaiting approval from the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI). All other preparations are complete. After getting the approval we will go into mass production,” said Kamruzzaman Kamal, Director (Marketing) of PRAN-RFL Group.

The latest data of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) released in August said there are 38,39,836 motorcycles in the country. The number of motorcycles in Dhaka is now about 9,81,265, which is 26 percent of the total motorcycles in the country.

A total of 1,168 people died in motorcycle accidents across the country in 2021, which was 1,097 in 2020, according to the ARI.