The announcement follows a recent nationwide inspection by the agency ahead of the December 15 deadline when wearing helmets becomes mandatory for all bike and motor scooter riders.

The 23 brands include ten manufactured in the country and 13 imported, according to the agency.

Ngo Quy Viet, head of the agency, said further inspections would be done soon to update the list.

Buyers should look for a stamp saying “Checked – TCVN 5756:2001”, he said.

He admitted that the number of helmets meeting the safety standards was like “a grain of sand in the desert” considering there were 148 brands being sold in the market.

List of 23 helmet brands certified as safe:

Locally-made: Amoro, Protec, HSL, Hitech, Xanaha Suzuki, Honda, Azura, Sankyo, Amono, Moto.

Foreign-imported: Index Helmet (Thailand), Michel visorex (Malaysia); SGV visorex (Malaysia), BG 03 Cap viso (Malaysia), Yamaha (Taiwan), Apolo (Malaysia), Honda (Japan), TA-15 (Taiwan), Index (Thailand), STM (Thailand), HJC (China), Shell-Helmets (China), Shell-Helmets (USA).

Reported by Xuan Toan – Translated by Minh Phat