In what might be a welcome move for all those who prefer safety over just about everything else, the Government of India is planning to make airbags and anti-lock braking system (ABS) compulsory in all cars to be sold in India. This step is following the previous decision of making cash tests mandatory on all new cars to be launched. The government is already discussing about how to execute these plans with the car manufacturers. The government also plans to discuss the addition of safety features such as electronic stability control (ESC) and child restraint system.
Carsh tests conducted on some of the hot selling Indian cars by the Global NCAP revealed how unsafe these vehicles actually were in case of an accident. The addition of these safety features will surely add a better score to some of the cars which managed to score some points. However, the government will be successful to reject those cars which have weak structures irrespective of the safety tech onboard.
Car manufacturers were playing it safe all this while by claiming that costs would raise significantly if the safety features were provided as standard, and it would negatively effect the sales. But now, the government wants to ensure that all new vehicles on the road should meet the set safety standards wiithin a deadline of 2017. A New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) is going to be set up in the next few months and all cars will have to take a frontal crash test set at a speed of 56 kmph. Facilities to conduct the frontal crash tests in Pune and Manesar are expected to be functional by this December.
Star ratings given to a particular car will help the buyers with their purchase decision. Star ratings are expected to be in the range of 1 – 5.
Source – Times of India
Image source – BBC News India