New Reflector Norms For Bicycles To Come Into Effect From September 1St

The Supreme Court committee on road safety of India has passed a law that requires all cycles to be fitted with a set of 10 reflectors from 1st September 2016, thereby extending the initial deadline (1st July) by 2 months. The 10 reflectors are split as follows: 4 on pedals, 2 on the front wheels, 2 on the rear wheels, 1 on the lamp bracket and 1 on the rear mudguard. The reflectors must adhere to ISO 6742-2 that is applicable to retro-reflective devices used on cycles intended to be used on public roads and, especially, bicycles complying with ISO 4210 and ISO 8098.

Demand and Supply

Due to the mandate, Bicycle manufacturers are in a hurry to place reflector orders. However, the reflector makers are claiming that it would take them significant amount of time (up to 6 months) to manufacture reflectors that comply with the above standards. There is also the matter of cost. These new reflectors are likely to cost more than twice the price of current reflectors.The reflectors will have to pass testing done by International Center for Automotive technology or ICAT for short. The United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA), the representative body of parts producers is asking for extension of deadline to 1st April 2017, in order to provide sufficient time for domestic reflector manufacturers to ramp up their manufacturing capacity.

The Domestic Conundrum

In order to comply with the law, Cycle manufacturers have already placed orders for the reflectors from China and Taiwan. As a result, small scale domestic reflector manufacturing units are left with unsold stock. This puts these companies in a bad position. UCPMA