As roads in India get, better and faster, the need for safer cars has increased. According to MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways), each year, road crashes result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and serious injuries to crores of people. In India alone, eighty thousand people are killed in road crashes every year. To put things into perspective, this is thirteen per cent of the total fatality all over the world. Crashes occur due to carelessness or due to the lack of road safety awareness of the road user.
As road and transport have become an integral part of every human being avoiding road travel is next to impossible. However, making cars safer is the next best option. To enhance road safety and to minimise the fatality rate in road accidents, the Government of India plans to roll out a safety assessment program. This safety assessment program will be similar to the Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme), Latin NCAP and Global NCAP.
According to Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, the latest Bharat NCAP will assign a rating on a ‘star’ system similar to the safety rating used in other NCAPs. Bharat New Car Assessment Programme will assess new vehicles in the Indian market and assign them these safety ratings. But, the safety rating programme will be based on the safety features offered by the manufacturer.
Bharat NCAP will assess the vehicle and provide a safety rating based on safety features such as seatbelts, airbags, electronic stability programme (ESP) etc. To achieve a higher safety rating, manufacturers will need to employ 3-point seat belts on all seats, offer 6-airbags as standard and include ESP. In addition to this, the government could also make ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) such as Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS), lane departure warning, forward collision warning and driver drowsiness detection mandatory.
Having said that, the government has not yet confirmed when they plan to roll out the new Bharat NCAP norms in India. Currently, most vehicles sold in India are assessed by the Global NCAP, under the #SaferCarForIndia initiative. This will increase the safety awareness in customers and help them choose the right vehicle.
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