From 2018 on, all car models in India to have airbags, ABS & speed-warning systems

The Indian government has decided to tighten its rules to provide increased road safety by asking all automakers to provide airbags, antilock braking system (ABS) and speed warning systems as standard equipment in all cars, starting from October 2018. The road transport and highways ministry is expected to issue a notification about the same, along with a timetable.

India counts among the countries with the maximum number of motoring accident rates, because vehicles made here are sold to price-conscious customers without proper safety features. While top models of most cars come with these features, the base models don’t offer these security measures, owing to which the number of road accidents is on a rise.

Recently, several Indian cars failed the global NCAP crash tests, and this is said to have inspired the move, even though automakers had defended themselves by saying that all cars made in India adhere to current safety standards as stipulated by the Indian government.

The government estimates that including these features in the cars would add 10% to the cost of the base model, which might even irk the customers.

The government also plans to have an exclusive safety authority, which would tentatively be called the Bharat National Car Assessment Programme (NCAP), to rate vehicles on safety basis. It would also mandate the front design of the vehicle to provide minimum injury to pedestrians.

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