6 Airbags To Become Mandatory From October 2023: Transport Minister Gadkari

• Six airbags were to become mandatory from October 2022. 

• Dual front airbags, ABS and rear parking sensors are already standard in all new cars in India. 

• Six-airbag mandate to accompany other improvements to the standard safety kit. 

• New rule making rear seat belt reminders mandatory is awaited. 

According to a new tweet from Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the ruling to make six airbags mandatory for all new cars in India has been postponed by a year. Side and curtain airbags in cars, in addition to dual front airbags, were to become compulsory from October this year, but the proposal will be mandated with effect from October 1, 2023, instead. 

Upcoming safety norms in India 

Alongside making side and curtain airbags mandatory, the upcoming regulation will also make other additions to the standard safety kit in India. Expected changes include the addition of stability control (commonly called ESC or ESP) and ISOFIX child seat mounts. 

This postponement shouldn’t affect the implementation of the Bharat New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). Crash testing will begin in April 2023 to award safety ratings to cars that are on sale in India. 

• Bharat NCAP Will Test Car Safety Based On These Three Broad Criteria

In light of the recent accident in which ex-Tata Chairman Cyrus Mistry lost his life, the transport minister had announced that rear seat belt reminders (SBRs) will also become mandatory soon. 

• Rear Seatbelt Reminders Soon To Become Standard In All Cars

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Currently, the minimum safety requirement for all new cars sold in India includes dual front airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS), rear parking sensors and front seat belt reminders. 

How will the new rule make cars safer? 

Several studies prove the efficacy of airbags in reducing major injuries and fatalities in car crashes. Dual front airbags do help front passengers in case of a frontal collision, but you need side and/or curtain airbags for protection in sideways crashes. Airbags undoubtedly improve car safety, and you can see how they affect crash test ratings in the story below: 

• Hyundai Tucson Gets Sub-par Safety Scores In Latin NCAP Despite Six Airbags

That said, airbags are hardly the end-all of car safety. Vehicles with dual front airbags, such as the Mini Cooper hatchback and even the Tata Nexon, score exemplary safety ratings in crash tests; some cars can score unimpressively even with six airbags at times. 

How a car holds up in the event of a crash and protects its occupants depends on the structural integrity of the bodyshell and crumple zones. As for the passengers themselves, the use of seat belts is crucial to their safety in a crash.

• Cyrus Mistry Accident: Why Buckling Up In The Back Is Important

Moreover, accident prevention is another aspect that the ruling will likely miss out on. Active safety and assistance features such as auto emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist detection can go a long way in reducing traffic fatalities in cars.

This tech is slowly trickling down to mainstream models and is present in the Honda City hybrid, MG Astor and Mahindra XUV700. But, as an industry-wide mandate, it would prove to be even more expensive to implement than the six airbags rule.

Also read: 

• Major Online Retailers Scrap Listings After Nitin Gadkari Urges To Stop Selling Seat Belt Alarm Stoppers

• Car Safety In India: Nitin Gadkari Slams Carmakers For Poor Safety Standards

It’s equally important to improve the road infrastructure in India. In fact, we need to make strides in traffic segregation and, importantly, driver training, to put a dent in the fatality figures in India’s accident statistics.

After all, cars occupy the minority of vehicles plying on our roads and new car buyers usually have a choice to pick one vehicle over another based on the already available safety ratings from overseas testing agencies.