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Old 18th December 2020, 12:43   #1
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Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

The Govt has finally got the approval from apex technical committee on Vehicle Standards to make Airbags standard for passenger side also. This would be irrespective of any model cars.

While the timeline is yet to be drawn, Govt has issued draft notification for making the safety standards amendment.

Source

Related article: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ne-airbag.html (Centre lets automakers drive in cheap cars with only one airbag)
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Old 18th December 2020, 14:18   #2
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Good move by government, I wish they also made below features mandatory in all vehicles
  • Rear Defogger
  • Rear wiper
  • Day/Night IRVM
  • Auto door unlock on impact

I guess these features do not cost a lot, but improves safety of the overall vehicle during rainy season and night drives.
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Old 18th December 2020, 14:53   #3
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Timeline might be very short for this, may be a maximum of 18 months considering the Airbag ECU, crash sensors are already present with scalability (considering higher variants). For manufacturers it will be just integration of additional airbag, some wiring design change, dashboard compatibility (just a check and stamping SRS on lower variants) for passenger airbag.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000 View Post
  • Rear Defogger
  • Rear wiper
  • Day/Night IRVM
  • Auto door unlock on impact

I guess these features do not cost a lot, but improves safety of the overall vehicle during rainy season and night drives.
Rightly captured, for example, a vehicle having central door lock and airbag ECU can be given free of cost. what really bugs me is that when a manufacturer creates differentiation in variants by safety features that cost nothing or meagre amount.

Some more much needed features,

- One touch lane change indication (many people forget to turn off indicators and create confusion).
- 3 point seatbelts for 2nd row middle occupant.
- Alcolock (like in Europe CVs).
- Speed based high beam deactivation - this will avoid vision beaching from oncoming vehicle in city drives and low speed drives, since you don't need to see 200m away at 30 kmph.

And I would like to see specially some regulation reducing the use of horn (which is logically thought of). Already there was a proposal for reducing the sound level of horns by certain dBs, I don't know if its implemented.
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Old 18th December 2020, 15:30   #4
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Great to see this- next up should be ESP and side airbags (4 at a minimum) by say 2024/25.
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Old 18th December 2020, 15:35   #5
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Maybe a noob question. Does the passenger side airbag gets activated even if the car has single occupant (driver)?
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Old 18th December 2020, 16:17   #6
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Quote:
Originally Posted by fordday View Post
Maybe a noob question. Does the passenger side airbag gets activated even if the car has single occupant (driver)?
Usually not. There are sensors to detect if the seat is occupied by an adult. In some cases, even if the front passenger seat is occupied by a child, airbags will not deploy.
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Old 18th December 2020, 17:16   #7
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Quote:
Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000 View Post
I wish they also made below features mandatory in all vehicles
  • Rear Defogger
  • Rear wiper
  • Day/Night IRVM
  • Auto door unlock on impact
Quote:
Originally Posted by fhdowntheline View Post
Great to see this- next up should be ESP and side airbags (4 at a minimum) by say 2024/25.
'Manual over-ride for doors equipped with Central Locking system' has been implemented from July 2019. So, 'Auto door unlock on impact' is implemented in better way.

ESP, Auto Emergency Braking (AEB) are in pipeline, most likely from Apr 2023. Final implementation date is not yet decided, but the way government is pushing ahead, this may be the date.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fordday View Post
Maybe a noob question. Does the passenger side airbag gets activated even if the car has single occupant (driver)?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Simhi View Post
Usually not. There are sensors to detect if the seat is occupied by an adult. In some cases, even if the front passenger seat is occupied by a child, airbags will not deploy.
Earlier usually both airbags used to deploy, (particularly in till C segment cars). Reason : Auto-deactivation of passenger side airbag (incase no passenger was present) requires weight sensor on passenger seat. Which OEMs used to skimp to save pennies.

Now, with passenger seat-belt reminder becoming mandatory from July 2019, the sensor has to be installed. So, now I think, bean counters may provide for this auto-deactivation of passenger airbag; unless they are looking to make money from repairs.

PS : Some cars had/ have manual over-ride switch, using vehicle key, in case passenger seat is used for placing child seat or a child is sitting. Something like this :

Passenger airbag to be made mandatory-unnamed.jpg
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Old 18th December 2020, 17:28   #8
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Great move, kudos to ministry. I hope this gets implemented ASAP
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Old 18th December 2020, 17:50   #9
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Quote:
Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000 View Post
Good move by government, I wish they also made below features mandatory in all vehicles
  • Rear Defogger
  • Rear wiper
  • Day/Night IRVM
  • Auto door unlock on impact

I guess these features do not cost a lot, but improves safety of the overall vehicle during rainy season and night drives.
Do not forget automatic fuel cut-off in case of an accident / rollover or any other emergency. It was present on most mid-range VWs and Skodas.
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Old 18th December 2020, 18:06   #10
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

excellent move, unless regulated manufacturers wont get it. Customers irrespective of the model would be safe.

Still I am against manufacturers providing critical safety features only on top end which makes me loose my money for the sun roof, connected car, etc.
Ex: Jeep compass has 6 air bags only in Limited Plus.. why ????
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Old 18th December 2020, 18:51   #11
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

A very good move!
Contrary to popular belief, I think government is in the right direction. Obviously we need many aspects to be improved, but it cannot be done overnight or in a short span. This gradual upgrade of rules will ensure manufacturers don't fleece us consumers citing government regulations. In the next 3/4 years, many things will be upgraded which are already a norm in higher variants and this will ensure that pricing is done with common sense!
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Old 18th December 2020, 19:32   #12
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Quote:
Originally Posted by fordday View Post
Maybe a noob question. Does the passenger side airbag gets activated even if the car has single occupant (driver)?
In higher end vehicles there are sensors to detect if a seat is occupied. In basic vehicles, both front airbags will deploy.
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Old 18th December 2020, 19:36   #13
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

I get the feeling this time around MSIL won't release any official statement or some passing remark about this resulting in higher input costs, car prices going further up & taking entry level cars away from the middle class consumers trying to upgrade from a scooter to a hatchback for family's safety. Any other time in past - that is something that we would be assured of. Off late MSIL tends to get a lot of flak for commercially oriented statements. Shows how much things have changed. Previously keeping shareholders happy was the one and only goal.

Entering into a dimension where even consumers/end users matter! This said - just mandating front 2 airbags - isn't going to directly result in a huge difference in number of unfortunate deaths in road-accidents on our roads. This is a very tiny action but in the right direction. Car's overall structural design standards need to be urgently defined. Most importantly - the way driving licenses are given away in India (yes I prefer to say "given away" specifically) - needs to be honestly reviewed & corrected. Till that happens - no other measures are going to make any difference.

Last edited by Reinhard : 18th December 2020 at 19:50.
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Old 18th December 2020, 19:54   #14
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Quote:
Originally Posted by tirumalavoleti View Post
Still I am against manufacturers providing critical safety features only on top end which makes me loose my money for the sun roof, connected car, etc.
Ex: Jeep compass has 6 air bags only in Limited Plus.. why ????
This unfortunately is true everywhere. For a long time, side and curtain airbags and ESP were optional in the West before regulation forced the norm. Even now, some active safety aids are optional in international models. But a lot of stuff is now mandatory.We in India are just used to measuring things from ground zero- twin airbags and ABS which have been around for over 2 decades elsewhere.
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Old 18th December 2020, 20:31   #15
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re: Passenger airbag to be made mandatory

Great to see the Government moving towards more safety requirements. But I have a question. Like we have seen before, some car makers have made their cars with less safe structures for the Indian market to aid cost-cutting. A good structure and safety systems like airbags go hand in hand. Even if one is bad, the effects can be fatal. I wonder if our current regulations can prevent manufacturers from compromising on the structure to offset the extra cost of the airbag (I am not familiar with the numbers involved here, so please correct me if the concern isn't relevant)?
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