Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, has finally authorised a draft notification mandate 6-airbags in all vehicles carrying up to eight passengers. This notification released yesterday follows Nitin Gadkari’s appeal to all car manufacturers to make six airbags necessary in all cars.
To minimise the impact of frontal and lateral collisions to the occupants seated in both front and rear compartments, it has been decided that 4 additional airbags be mandated in the M1 vehicle category,…
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) January 14, 2022
The government will review the comments received on the notification by the carmakers, people and other stakeholders. After review, MoRTH will make any required changes to the rules, and final notification will be released. MoRTH would require carmakers to implement this from October 2022.
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Ministry’s Statements
Ministry Of Road Transport Currently, dual front airbags are necessary for all cars. The rule for the second airbag for the co-driver came into effect this January itself. In comparison, the driver airbag was mandated from July 2019.
In order to enhance the safety of the occupants in motor vehicles carrying upto 8 passengers, I have now approved a Draft GSR Notification to make a minimum of 6 Airbags compulsory. #RoadSafety #SadakSurakshaJeevanRaksha
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) January 14, 2022
Also Read: Indians Willing To Pay More For Safer Cars: Survey Says
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Upcoming Challenges
Carmakers will have to add side, curtain & torso airbags to the respective models. This will increase the manufacturing cost and require design reconsideration for various models.
Also Read: 7 Safest SUVs As Crash Tested By Global NCAP
Carmakers will have to redesign certain aspects of the cabin and the car to implement these latest rules. These engineering changes made to the body and interior will take some time & effort to offer a better level of protection for all the already running cars to make them safer.
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Price Hike
A frontal airbag costs between ₹5,000-10,000 for entry-level vehicles; this cost gets doubled for side & curtain airbags. This would result in a price hike of almost ₹50,000 for all the respective models.
Also Read: Safest Cars In India With Atleast 6 Airbags Under 15 Lakh
The automobile industry is already coping with the changing emission norms; this will add to their list. The question remains unanswered: how will carmakers execute this fitment for all the cars. This will surely make the vehicles more expensive but also significantly safer at the same time.
