(Yicai Global) May 19 -- China-made helmets for electric and motorbikes, typically a major export product, are becoming in demand at home after the national Ministry of Public Security unveiled a new law forcing riders to wear protective headgear from June 1.

“We are no longer taking orders as we can’t finish them on time,” Hu Linxu, head of sales at Zhejiang province-based Yueqing Feixiang Motorcycle Parts told Yicai Global, adding that his firm’s manufacturing staff are working overtime to keep up with demand. Hu expects sales to double this year and the company is already setting up new production lines and recruiting staff.

Zhejiang, alongside Jiangsu province, emphasized plans to target riders not wearing helmets when the new law comes into effect and will charge offenders CYN50 (USD7), their local authorities said on May 15. Other provincial-level regions have yet to specify punishments.

There are more than 250 million electric bikes on Chinese roads, and about 38 million in Jiangsu, according to data from the China Bicycle Association. There is now a helmet shortage of about 200 million, one securities trader believes.

The incoming law has also pumped up the price of helmets, with some rising to upwards of CNY100 from about CY20. Most helmets on Alibaba Group Holding’s e-commerce platform Taobao are selling for around CNY60, though some sellers say delivery will take a month.

Electric bikes are involved in more than half of all road traffic collisions in Jiangsu, according to Chen Yufeng, head of the traffic police corps at Jiangsu Public Security Department. Of these accidents, 70 percent of those that result in deaths are because the rider did not wear a helmet and suffered a craniocerebral injury.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, James Boynton