In the latest notification issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the central government has made dual front airbags as a standard fitment, which is an important safety mandate based on the suggestions of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety. All new cars manufactured on and after 1st April 2021 will be fitted with dual airbags for a person occupying the front seat, other than the driver.
Till now, it was mandatory for every car to have driver-side steering mounted airbag as a standard fitment. Hence, many basic car models were available without any airbags for the passenger seat. Goes without saying, the new mandate will boost safety in entry-level car models in the Indian market. The addition of the new airbag feature will slightly push the prices of existing models available after 31st August as manufacturers are allowed to sell the existing models with or without dual airbags for the next 4 months.
There are many car models available with only driver-side airbags such as Hyundai Santro, Maruti S-Presso, Maruti Alto, Renault Kwid, Mahindra Bolero, and Datsun Redi-GO. The latest notification adds that all cars will need airbags that meet the AIS 145 standard under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that a combination of airbags and seat belt reduces the risk of death in frontal crashes by 61%, with airbags alone accounting for a 33% reduction. India accounts for 9% of total road accidents in the world. Hence, the government is also considering introducing other safety features such as electronic Stability Control and Autonomous Emergency Braking as a standard feature in vehicles from 2022-23 onwards, which will come with a price hike of 5-10%. However, this is a small price to pay for life-saving equipment and features for millions of vehicles running on the Indian roads.
