Ho Chi Minh City Thursday announced that 11 out of the 12 helmet samples it tested recently failed to meet safety standards.

In the tests, the only helmet type that met safety standards was produced by Nghia Phat Company for an order from local Hong Bang University.

Before the tests, HCMC’s Market Management had fined Da Ly Company in District 6 on February 23 for making unsafe helmets.

HCMC Market Management’s Ly Ngoc Thang said a business can only start producing helmets for sale after its sample passes a safety test.

All 11 unsafe brands, however, were certified to carry CR stamps, issued for crash helmets that meet a set of safety standards, including size, weight, strength and visability.

According to the city’s Market Management, crash helmet producers have been engaged in unhealthy competition to minimize prices to VND35,000-40,000 (US$2-2.30) apiece, causing a drop in quality.

The Ministry of Science and Technology from November last year banned all helmets that didn’t qualify for CR stamps.

A test by the Vietnam Standard and Consumer Association (Vinastas) in April last year, four months after motorists were ordered to wear crash helmets, showed that more than 70 percent of the helmets on the city market did not meet safety standards.

Vinastas said 80 percent of helmets with quality control stickers were also unsafe.

Reported by Nguyen Dinh Muoi