New Delhi: The Central Government has taken a major step to reduce the deaths in road accidents in the country. The Ministry of Roads and Transport (MoRTH) has made the front airbag mandatory in the new car to be built after 1 April.
Now companies will have to install air bags in the new cars from April 1 for the driver and his side seat. According to the new rule, old cars which do not have air bags yet, will also have to get air bags in their car before 31 August. A car running on the road without an air bag will be invoiced.
In a tweet issued late Friday night by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the deadline for compulsory fit of front passenger airbags for new vehicles is April 1, 2021.
Dawatjbh made significant changes in 2019. Paved the way for the introduction of major safety features for two-wheel and four-wheel vehicles. It was then decided that airbags were made mandatory for all passenger vehicles.
The Transport Ministry had been working for a long time to make front airbags in the car necessary, after which the Transport Ministry recently sent a proposal to the Law Ministry. Now the Law Ministry has also given consent. After this the notification has been issued.
The loopholes in the new regulations specified under Automotive Industry Standards (AIS) meant a handful of manufacturers – who have models in the budget hatchback segment – opted to offer only driver-side airbags as standard. Earlier this option was available only in expensive trains. However, this will no longer be the case, as all cars on sale in India will require dual front airbags, regardless of the segment or price category.
For a long time, dual front airbags have been available in expensive vehicles mostly as standard, but some low-cost models still do not have standard front passenger airbags, as their manufacturers wanted to keep the price of the car low so that people had access to them. Could. Entry-level variants of the Maruti Suzuki Alto, S-Preso, Celerio and even the Wagon R come standard with just the driver’s airbag (a co-driver airbag is an additional cost option), while the EcoS people and cargo – Mover There is no option of front passenger airbag at all.
The Renault Kwid’s entry-level variant only comes with a driver-side airbag – a co-driver airbag is available as an option from the RXT variant. The Dutson Redigo also gets only driver-side airbags as per the standard. Another car that misses on a standard front passenger airbag is the Hyundai Santro, offering it only on high-spec variants. The trusty Mahindra Bolero also gets only driver-side airbags.
The addition of a front passenger airbag will increase the starting prices of the above vehicles by Rs 5,000-8,000. This will definitely be a concern for new car buyers. But it is important to point out that airbags can protect all passengers from injuries or death in case of a road accident.