Indian Govt. Proposes Mandatory Airbags For Passengers In Front Seats Of Vehicles.
In an effort to offer safety in cars, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Tuesday proposed to make airbags for front passenger mandatory.
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The proposed timelines for implementation are from April, 2021 for new models and June, 2021 for existing models, the draft notification issued by the ministry of road and transport said.
The ministry of road and transport has sought public consultation for the draft notification.
“Comments/ suggestions are solicited from all stakeholders at the following email address: comments-morth@gov.in within Thirty days from the date. The ministry said government’s proposal to make dual front airbags mandatory will lead to an increase in price of vehicle, and vehicle manufacturers should absorb the major hike in costs to prevent impact on sales of vehicles," the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Tuesday.
For now, only the driver's seat airbag is mandatory for all cars in india . However, this leaves the passenger in the front seat completely vulnerable to severe major injury or even death in case of accidents as the passengers in the front seat are not protected by the airbag
“FADA welcomes The ministry of road transport and highway intention for mandating dual front airbags. This is a much needed safety norm which India should adopt and as par with global standards,” FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said in a statement on ministry of road amd treansportof “Vehicles manufactured on and after 1st Day of April 2021, in the case of new models, and 1st day of June 2021, in the case of existing models, shall be fitted with airbag for the person occupying the front seat, other than the driver. The requirement for such airbag shall be as per AIS 145 safety norms under the Bureau of Indian Standards act, 2016," the notification said.
The implementation of BS-VI emission norms led to a high price increase, and this will also come with a increased price.
“We hope OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) absorb the major cost of input due to the second airbag as it will impact the vehicle sales in the short-term. It will be bad for the automobile industry, which is able to show growth on MoM (month-on-month) basis, but still lags in YoY (year-on-year) basis after Covid-19.
