[dingolphie]

I was reviewing the same. It says the notification lapsed and the consultation process must be restarted before it can be enforced.

I was planning on holding off delivery for a couple of months to take advantage. I guess the manufacturers won out here.

[fiat_tarun]

The rules released are still in draft stage, so don't wait thinking this will happen in October 2023. Once the final notification is out with a date that is what is binding.

I don't see this rule coming into effect till the 2024 elections at least !

The govt. has again shifted focus to the BNCAP since it is 'voluntary' and will be market driven with a proposed roll out from 1st October. The BNCAP covers vehicle safety more holistically, so hopefully all OEM's come on board, which I feel will happen with so much more awareness on safety and some OEM's making it their USP.

[rkmountain]

I am waiting for a Nexon facelift launch ( possibly festive season 2023). If 6 airbags are not mandatory, will Tata offer it at least in the higher variants? I doubt

[Getsetgo123]

Not sure but got information that some automakers convinced Govt for phased implementation of Six airbags standard in all vehicles and proposed plan untill 2026 .

[itwasntme]

Any update on whether the minimum 6 airbag rule is coming into play from 1 October 2023?

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Any update on whether the minimum 6 airbag rule is coming into play from 1 October 2023?

The 6 Airbag notification did not move from draft to final release and the answer to your question is no, it won't happen from 1st October, and it is unlikely to now given that BNCAP has been notified which partly covers the 6 Airbags requirement.

[som9729]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

The 6 Airbag notification did not move from draft to final release and the answer to your question is no, it won't happen from 1st October, and it is unlikely to now given that BNCAP has been notified which partly covers the 6 Airbags requirement.

Looks like six airbags mandatory requirement has now been removed

[Rodie09]

Its odd that there is focus on Airbags (its a good thing actually but secondary restraint) and rear seat belts as well but nothing about having below 2 first-

1. No rules around child safety specifically around Child seats and also about carrying kids in the front (some stupids carry between them and steering wheel)

2. Three point seat belt for rear seat middle passenger - again in many cases this seat will be occupied by a child

All safety talks are around adult safety only. What about the safety of children who have no voice but depend on us adults to keep them safe.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by Rodie09

All safety talks are around adult safety only. What about the safety of children who have no voice but depend on us adults to keep them safe.

You are absolutely correct. I used a child seat for my daughter and now my son uses it.
But this is going to be a take 2, I presume. Step by step is the key. At least the Government is taking some initiative towards safety but what about us as final consumers / users. Are we safety conscious in India. The answer is No. Today if you stand on a highway and observe cars, may be only 50% of people would be wearing seat belts and 10% among them would be wearing seat belts at the rear. Most of the time, you only see the driver wearing a seat belt because it’s become a muscle memory thing to wear a belt once you enter the car.

After the famous accident of Mr. Cyrus Mistry, I thought many people will change, but I was wrong.

At present, we need to focus upon wearing seat belts, not only in front but also in the rear. A person or family who regularly wears seat belts, will make sure their children also wear them. At least I make sure they do.

[volkman10]

6 airbags are not mandatory:

Minister:

We have introduced the BNCAP regime which demands six airbags for achieving 5-star safety rating in cars. It will automatically push companies to offer 6 airbags as standard without the need for making them mandatory

Link

[vijaykr]

The Times of India article mentions the minister saying that one automotive player was not on board with this proposal. It might have been better to get industry buyin before issuing the initial proclamation. But then there is a possibility that the OEMs might have dragged it out long enough for the topic to lose interest

https://m.timesofindia.com/india/gad.../103644892.cms

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by volkman10

6 airbags are not mandatory:

All due to intense "lobbying" by one of largest car manufacturers in the country. We know which one it is.

Till the time people in this country don't stop running behind mileage numbers and concentrate on safety features, these norms will never become the law.

Excerpt from the TOI article

While the road transport ministry had issued a draft notification mandating six airbags in all cars from October, the government did not follow it up with the
final order amid intense lobbying led by one of the largest car makers in the country.

He also said that the entire auto industry was on board on the safety feature, but for one player, stopping short of naming the company

[fiat_tarun]

I personally support that 6 airbags are not being legislated. Just airbags without structural safety is of no use and hence the focus on BNCAP is exactly what is needed. A person should be aware they of the safety rating of the vehicle and the final choice to buy or not is with the consumer.

Additionally, I think we need to accept that there are many first time buyers for whom price is the decisive factor and hence accessibiity of entry level vehicles is very important when the family is moving from a 2W to a 4W. An Alto today already costs 6-7L on road and such additions will only push prices further up.

[sreejithkk]

This is really sad. When government planned to make dual airbags and ABS mandatory, there were resistance from manufacturers but finally they had to comply. Government should have made 6 airbags mandatory irrespective of the resistance from manufacturers. In a price sensitive market like ours, only a few will be ready to pay with their wallet for safety, unless it is made mandatory.

[ron178]

Unpopular opinion: quite happy with this. Without a performance standard (like the ECE R135 pole test) this would drive up prices and leave more people on 2-wheelers instead of AIS98/99-compliant cars while potentially offering ZERO safety benefits.

Reason: unlike in the US or Europe, in "emerging markets", when manufacturers are forced to simply fit airbags without performance testing, all sorts of things happen.

Case in point: in Latin America there have been many cars (here, here and here) that simply "have" side body/head airbags; often in Latin NCAP side pole testing they are too small, or deploy late, or the structure intrudes too much, and dummy readings are as if they had not been there.

I would rather have BNCAP side pole test compliant side airbags on cars where consumers demand them. That way wherever consumers demand side airbags they will at least actually work.

A few improvements I would like to see:
-the fitment rates Bharat NCAP allows for four and five stars are too low. As of 2023 you can get a full five-star rating with just 50% of production volume of a model having side head airbags. Even by 2025 that becomes 90% and not 100.

-the MoRTH draft, I hear, required curtain airbags to cover all rows, which Bharat NCAP doesn't.

-a geometric assessment for curtain airbags, like Latin NCAP has implemented. That would make sure the airbags have sufficient coverage to protect occupants of different statures and seating positions, and in a wider variety of crashes.