[Leem]

Welcome move. I would rather prefer side curtain airbags over auto headlamps or rain sensing wipers in top variants.

[anumod]

A better move, (Something is better than nothing) but let me put some more practical aspects. Rather than putting these after thoughts or partial thoughts, should the government think holistically?. The governing body needs to have crash tests to be made mandatory for all cars (Not again with lot of loop holes, but at least as good as GNCAP, I am ok not stretching up to EURONCAP ) as the best option. I think for majority of the cars (read it as more than 50% cars) sold in India, this will be again a burden on the owner (please read on, before you comment here ). If the structure itself is not stable , putting another airbag assembly may make the owner to spend more money in case of an accidental repair. (Replacing an air bag is more costly than fixing at the time of manufacturing). So for most of the owners in India, this will give you a feel good factor, but practically, it may make the owner more poorer.

[Nitronium]

Great to hear this. The ripple effect of this is safer cars on the road in 5 years

While this is being planned, it's a pipe dream of mine for drivers to be fined if the passenger has children on the lap in the front seat. I really wish I could show these people what could happen if the airbag were to deploy against the body of a child. And it's not even like a vehicle needs significant force for airbags to inflate

[fhdowntheline]

In general, I dont think people will go for a safer car by choice. If that were the case ,only cars with 4/5 stars or high IIHS scores would have sold . Sometimes regulations have to be enforced by mandatory equipment. This is just a start although ideally they should have asked for 4 airbags for cars up to 5 seats and 6 airbags for 6/7/8 seaters. I am sure ESP will be next in 2023/24.

[car_guy1998]

A welcome move by our govt of India. Hope, Kia and Hyundai, along with Maruti and other brands will realize and make the structure or build quality of the car improved after this move made by our govt.

But, one more thing, which the govt should do is to make side and curtain airbags mandatory as well.

[rainmaster]

Very good move by government , we are finally making baby steps towards building safer cars for India. We are in an unfortunate situation where same factory makes two different version of car and we are doomed to get unsafe car. Developed car markets have moved towards providing advanced driver assisting features , but we are still talking about making mandatory airbags .

Imagine how many lives could have been saved if our vehicles are equipped with Collision Mitigation Braking systems, lane departure mitigation system and other similar driver assist safety features . Hundreds of accidents like hitting stationary vehicles parked in highway , drowsy driver crashing on trees ,crossing lanes and crashing on to oncoming vehicles could have been avoided. Hope in next decade above features will be provided as an optional package if not comes along as a default features.

[GTO]

I applaud the govt & our authorities for this forward-thinking move .

Notice how the government is slowly & steadily mandating safety, and rightly so. Such important aspects cannot be left to cost-driven manufacturers who give us unsafe cars. First was ABS, later the driver-side airbag was made compulsory, and came the speed warnings, rear parking sensors and seatbelt reminders.

I'm telling you, ESP & proper crash-testing are most definitely on the government's radar. They are just giving slow poison to the auto manufacturers (most manufacturers sadly view safety as an annoyance).

[landcruiser123]

Great move by the government. Better late than never when it comes to safety!

I just hope GoI doesn't forget the basics of safety - it starts with good driver training & education.

Originally Posted by GTO

They are just giving slow poison to the auto manufacturers (most manufacturers sadly view safety as an annoyance).

Do you think it'd be easier to reduce excise duty (for safer cars) in the short term to give manufacturers the cost advantage?

[Venkatesh]

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has extended the deadline for mandatory installation of dual front airbags in existing car models by four months to December 31, 2021.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has asked for more time for implementation of the dual airbags rule on existing car models.

The deadline has been extended in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Source

[jithin23]

Originally Posted by GTO

I applaud the govt & our authorities for this forward-thinking move .

I'm telling you, ESP & proper crash-testing are most definitely on the government's radar. They are just giving slow poison to the auto manufacturers (most manufacturers sadly view safety as an annoyance).

I second this opinion to make ESP and TC mandatory soon. Also one more underrated feature which is a must for India I feel are rear wipers+defogger and rear fog lamps. These simple things can enhance safety during monsoon and winter which most of India faces. Especially when the best selling cars in the country don't get the features even in the base-mid variant is what baffles me.

Regarding the passenger Airbag, it's better late than never and most of the cars above 7L come with Dual Airbags as standard. It's only the segment below 6L which needed the push.

Only thing I hope is car manufacturers don't pull a stunt like how Renault did with the Duster in India back in 2016-17.

Pasting the link of the duster instance for more context:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.out...gn-vari/298831

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has extended the deadline for mandatory installation of dual front airbags in existing car models by four months to December 31, 2021.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has asked for more time for implementation of the dual airbags rule on existing car models.

The deadline has been extended in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Source

This should not have been approved. This signals that you are willing to forego safety for the sake of economic convenience and sets a bad precedent. I think adding one extra airbag wasn't going to cost the OEMs an arm and a leg. Its just additional penny-pinching that has been given a sympathetic view.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

This should not have been approved...

Well, when the world is going through a pandemic with supply shortages everywhere, the last thing the Indian government would care about is about cars which are used by less than 3% of the population. We have more fundamental issues to fix like healthcare, food security, education of children etc.

I hope there was a proper analysis and good thought behind taking such a decision.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Well, when the world is going through a pandemic with supply shortages everywhere, the last thing the Indian government would care about is about cars which are used by less than 3% of the population.

I hope there was a proper analysis and good thought behind taking such a decision.

Well if you are churning out equal or better numbers of production every month , you cant argue about shortages. Is there any evidence that airbag kits are affected as part of the supply chain issues? I suppose they can prioritise airbags over infotainment if it comes to maintaining the standard equipment cost.

[ruzbehxyz]

Deadline for mandatory dual airbag regulation pushed to December 31, 2021.

All cars on sale will now require to mandatorily be fitted with dual airbags from 2022. Previously the deadline for mandatory fitment of dual airbags for all vehicles was August 31, 2021, while all new cars launched since April 2021 already come fitted with standard dual airbags.

The main cars to be affected by the new regulations will be from the entry-level and budget hatchback segments where many cars still come equipped only with a driver airbags as standard. Prominent examples include the Maruti Alto, S-Presso and Wagon R, Datsun Redigo and Renault Kwid where a passenger airbag is currently available as a paid option or standard only on the fully-loaded models.

Source: https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...mber-31-421265

[TorqueIndia]

This is interesting, I guess there exists only very few cars without a standard dual airbags setup right ?
Let's find those and how relevant they are.

*Maruti Suzuki Alto
*Maruti Suzuki Eeco
*Maruti Suzuki WagonR
*Maruti Suzuki Celerio
*Maruti Suzuki Spresso

List from Maruti itself is pretty huge, it's too bad.