[V4D3R]

The Indian government has announced its decision to make the passenger side airbag mandatory in new cars. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in a gazette notification announced the new rule that will require all new vehicles to have dual front airbags as standard fitment from April 1, 2021. Meanwhile, existing vehicles will be required to be sold with dual airbags from August 31, 2021.

Source: https://www.carandbike.com/news/gove...hicles-2384627

A very good decision, IMHO, but one that requires pairing with user education. By a guesstimate, I’d say that less than 5% of the population knows that an airbag will not deploy without the user being buckled in, or risk death due to the explosive impact of the inflating airbag (Hence SRS - or Secondary Restraint System). I know of many people who don’t use a seatbelt because it’s uncomfortable, and my protestations have fallen on deaf ears. It is these people who are likeliest to come all guns blazing and try to sue manufacturers for a failed airbag deployment if they survive a frontal collision, thinking the airbag will save them even if they don’t wear a seatbelt.

@Mods: Please push to the news section as MoRTH has officially issued a gazette notification regarding Passenger Airbags now being mandatory.

[slamnos]

Originally Posted by V4D3R

I’d say that less than 5% of the population knows that an airbag will not deploy without the user being buckled in, or risk death due to the explosive impact of the inflating airbag (Hence SRS - or Secondary Restraint System). I know of many people who don’t use a seatbelt because it’s uncomfortable, and my protestations have fallen on deaf ears.

It is not compulsory for seat belt to be buckled for Airbags to be deployed. It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Having said that airbags are most effective when seat belts are buckled. And seat belts avoid serious injuries in most accidents.

It is a welcome move by Govt towards better safety.

Hope Govt is also proactive in improving road infrastructure for safety of commuters and pedestrians. Thousands are loosing lives because of this, lame administration when it comes to infrastructure

[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by V4D3R

Source: [url="https://www.carandbike.com/news/government-makes-passenger-side-airbag-mandatory-for-vehicles-2384627"]

A very, very welcome decision for sure. Finally, the babus have come to realize that dual airbags + ABS is the need of the hour. It's not only the driver but also the passenger who should get adequate safety.

However, one obvious fact that I feel will be prevalent in dealerships is that the SAs will now boast more about having 2 airbags in every variant, even though the car has received a low safety rating.

I'm not aware of when the Indian NCAP rating comes into effect, but when the government did say that they want manufacturers to build safer cars and not produce cars with lesser quality for the Indian market, I didn't see any concrete steps towards it. IMO, the government should now mandate a 3* safety rating before even a single unit of the car is sold.

[rkv_2401]

Originally Posted by akash_v12

Finally, the babus have come to realize that dual airbags + ABS is the need of the hour. It's not only the driver but also the passenger who should get adequate safety.
.
.
but when the government did say that they want manufacturers to build safer cars and not produce cars with lesser quality for the Indian market, I didn't see any concrete steps towards it. IMO, the government should now mandate a 3* safety rating before even a single unit of the car is sold.

Don't you think that the decision to move towards dual airbags + ABS is a pretty concrete step towards safer cars for the Indian market?

Originally Posted by akash_v12

one obvious fact that I feel will be prevalent in dealerships is that the SAs will now boast more about having 2 airbags in every variant, even though the car has received a low safety rating.

I think it's okay for the dealers to flaunt safety features that the car has, regardless of whether the manufacturer's hands were forced or not. Also, the addition of 2 airbags to all variants of a car which is designed with airbags in mind will make them safer, even if the body structure or crumple zones of said car are worse off compared to cars with higher safety rating. I agree with your point that "2 airbags != highest safety rating", but setting a minimum safety standard of 2 airbags and ABS for even the lowest end variant of the cheapest car sold in the country is a pretty great move IMO!

[vredesbyrd]

This is good to hear. So the govt really wants to smarten things up. As it is, the 20 year rule will also start from April. My only hope is that they scrap the 10/15 rule in NCR and scrap NGT along with it :3

[The21st]

Great move
Government's move towards safer cars are giving hope considering the fact that single airbag was made mandatory just in 2019. Now in 2021 dual airbags are made mandatory. Hoping for more safety standards in coming years

[norhog]

This is a great move.
But safety measures should be implemented for all road users.

Here we have highly safe cars with all bells and whistles and next to it is a auto rickshaw, no seat belt, crumple zone, no proper roof. How do we deal with that!!!

Next, seating in cars. All passengers must be seated in their individual seats with seat belts strapped on. Every where in India you will see six people seated in a small hatch back, adjusting and all. Add to that kids on lap in front seat.

So it is a great start and great effort no doubt, from in built safety wise.
But we need to cover a lot of miles when it comes to safety in the operational domain.

[Simhi]

Originally Posted by norhog

Here we have highly safe cars with all bells and whistles and next to it is a auto rickshaw, no seat belt, crumple zone, no proper roof. How do we deal with that!!!

You read my mind. What about other class of vehicles, like autorickshaw, small commercial carriers like Tata Ace, Maruti Super Carry, LCV and HCV?

At least, the government has shown the intention towards safety and we hope they extend it slowly to all class of vehicles.

[jithin23]

Wait. I thought airbags were made mandatory a few years ago. If it's my bad, then still this is a great move and it's better later than never. GoI could have also included Hill Hold, Traction control and ESP as mandatory features and for car makers it's a matter of enabling these in the ECU. Hope a mandate is passed on for better build and part quality as well.

Received these on WhatsApp yesterday and it's high time the government emphasises on better build quality.

[Senna_sempre]

While it took an eternity for the Government to make the Dual Airbags mandatory but nevertheless its a good move finally. They also should make the ABS+EBD to be mandatory and maybe also the seat belt pretensioners.

I really wish the Govt sets up the our own crash testing agency with stringent safety norms soon. To be certified for sale, every vehicle should be crash tested and has to meet the minimum internal safety standards. It is the only way to push the manufacturers to produce the safer cars for our country.

[pawank]

Originally Posted by akash_v12

I didn't see any concrete steps towards it. IMO, the government should now mandate a 3* safety rating before even a single unit of the car is sold.

One should not expect things to turn upside down overnight. This is a slow and steady process. The government cannot force all of the safety rules suddenly in one go. Otherwise, the price of the car will move out of the reach of a common man.

[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by rkv_2401

Also, the addition of 2 airbags to all variants of a car which is designed with airbags in mind will make them safer, even if the body structure or crumple zones of said car are worse off compared to cars with higher safety rating.

Originally Posted by pawank

One should not expect things to turn upside down overnight. This is a slow and steady process. The government cannot force all of the safety rules suddenly in one go. Otherwise, the price of the car will move out of the reach of a common man.

Just my 2 cents.

I made it pretty clear at the start of my post that 2 airbags are a very good step by the government. I am in complete support of the idea and still hold in favor that these steps were to be taken years ago.

However, I also put emphasis on the fact that even today, manufacturers can build cars with as many airbags but if there is no stable shell and QC, what is the point of the airbags? (case-in-point, images shared by Jithin23 above & the numerous images in the accidents in India thread). The process will take time to implement and BNVSAP soon-to-be-implemented, this should be the perfect time to implement/bring about changes in the rules.

Originally Posted by jithin23

Wait. I thought airbags were made mandatory a few years ago. If it's my bad, then still this is a great move and it's better

They were but only for the Driver's Side IIRC.

[sgiitk]

I fully support this move. I will go for all round airbags but the cost/benefit ratio comes in. So this is a good start. However, even now the compliance on belts is not universal.

[TaurusSHO]

Originally Posted by akash_v12

IMO, the government should now mandate a 3* safety rating before even a single unit of the car is sold.

Kind of like what the US does with its "window sticker". It provides information like the powertrain, options, fuel economy, pricing and mandatory safety rating. I'd like to see something similar to this in India that would highlight the vehicle's overall safety.

WindowStickerPDF.pdf

[pawank]

Originally Posted by akash_v12

However, I also put emphasis on the fact that even today, manufacturers can build cars with as many airbags but if there is no stable shell and QC, what is the point of the airbags?

A couple of months ago a senior level officer in Ministery for Road Transport & Highways hinted at making some rules regarding the quality of metal used in the car body shells. I think that the government knows this too, but the lobby of automobile industrialists is very strong and the government cannot go ahead without its support.