Gauhati HC wants crash tests for 4-wheelers under 1.5 tons

The Gauhati High Court has directed the Central Government to make crash tests and pollution tests compulsory for all passenger and goods vehicles including quadricycles with a mass up to 1,500 kg. The High Court wants all small four-wheeler models to go thought safety and emission tests before they are allowed to be sold.

According to the Court's order, the quadricycle is also a motor vehicle that falls under the M1 category, which consists of passenger vehicles with not more than eight seats apart from the driver's seat. The Court says that the emission norms applicable to the M1 category should have been made applicable to the quadricycle instead of those applicable to two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

The order comes as a response to two PILs filed that contend that the small passenger cars produced by manufacturers in India do not conform to safety standards. Tests conducted by the European New Car Assessment Programme in November 2014 revealed that entry level cars sold in India were not good enough to pass crash tests.

From October 2017, the government has made it mandatory for new models to meet certain safety norms which will make it necessary for them to be fitted with airbags and anti-lock braking systems.

Source: Economic Times