Draft policy for mandatory 6 airbags issued

The central government on Friday notified a draft policy for the mandatory installation of six airbags in passenger vehicles of a capacity of up to eight passengers.

 

Announcing the move today, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted, “In order to enhance the safety of the occupants in motor vehicles carrying up to eight passengers, I have now approved a draft notification to make a minimum of six airbags compulsory."

 

The government mandated driver airbags from July 2019 and front co-passenger airbag from the beginning of this month.

 

Business Today TV had on January 4 exclusively reported the government’s intent on mandating six airbags in all passenger vehicles.

 

Giving details of where the airbags will be installed, Gadkari said, “to minimise the impact of frontal and lateral collisions to the occupants seated in both front and rear compartments, it has been decided that four additional airbags be mandated in the M1 vehicle category-two side/side torso airbags and two side curtain/tube airbags covering all outboard passengers”.

 

The draft notification seeks suggestions from various stakeholders before the final norms are issued.

 

Each airbag is pegged to cost between Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000 and manufacturers are expected to pass on the additional cost to buyers.

 

India accounts for nearly 10 per cent of all road crash victims globally, as per a recent World Bank report. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a federal agency of the United States of America, states that a combination of airbags and seat belts bring down the risk of death in frontal crashes by 61 per cent, with airbags alone accounting for 34 per cent reduction in fatalities.

Also Read: Google Pixel’s foldable smartphone might look like the Oppo Find N

Also Read: Passenger vehicle sales dip 13% to over 2.19 lakh units in Dec: SIAM