Issues over road safety in India has been haunting carmakers for quite a while now. After much controversy relating to safety features installed in cars in India, the Government has finally made it mandatory for passenger car makers to install basic safety features such as air bags, anti-lock braking systems, , seat belt reminders, child restraint systems and reinforced body structures in all their respective cars manufactured and sold from October 2015. This would mean that even the entry level car prices would rise by about Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 35,000 from October next year.
Speaking to sources, Vijay Chhibber, Road transport and highways secretary, said that India’s first vehicle safety standard, known as 'India New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP)', shall be based on widely accepted United Nations NCAP, shall be notified early next year. Speaking more on its Chhibber added, “Initially compliance will be voluntary but from October 2015, it will be mandatory for manufacturers to comply with the safety regulations.”
Indian roads are considered to be one among of the most unsafe in the world. In terms of fatalities, around 1,40,000 people reportedly people reportedly loose their lives in road accidents every year. The current standards require cars to withstand frontal crash at speeds of about 46 kmph, whereas the new NCAP regulations would be based on European standards that shall require cars to pass frontal and side impact crash tests at 56 kmph. The decision comes at a time when two popular hatchbacks namely – Datsun Go and Maruti Swift have failed crash test conducted by global testing firm Global NCAP.
Source: HT
