The first standards for motorcycle
helmet (MS 1: 1969) were introduced in 1969 by SIRIM and
were mandatory by law. Subsequently the standards were made
more stringent. At that point in time not all manufacturers
complied with the new standards.
In 1996 we bought 25 motorcycle helmets
from various retail outlets and tested them to the new
standards at SIRIM.
Only 3 helmets (12%) passed and the
remaining failed the new standards. Some unethical practices
were also picked up by our research assistant. The licenses
of three manufacturers were revoked and subsequently all
manufacturers agreed to manufacture motorcycle helmets which
complied to the new standards MS 1: 1996
In 2005, we randomly bought 50
motorcycle helmets (45 adult and 5 child) from retail
outlets in the Klang Valley and sent them to SIRIM for
testing to the enhanced standards MS 1: 1996. All the adult
helmets passed the test(except one helmet which failed the
retention test (i.e. strap failed). Only one out of the 5
child passed the tests. SIRIM has developed standards for
motorcycle helmets for children. (MS1727, 2004)
