Airbags & ABS mandatory in Indian cars from October 2018

In an effort to enhance road safety and minimize accident rates, the Government of India has decided to make safety equipment like Airbags, ABS, and Speed Warning system mandatory for all cars to be sold in India. This new regulation will be enforced from October 2018.

Few automakers like Volkswagen, Toyota and Maruti Suzuki have already made airbags and ABS standard in some of their vehicles. Around 40% of the total vehicles sold in India have Airbags and ABS on their feature list. But the Government now wants to take this figure to 100%.

In addition to the above mandatory safety features, the Government is also planning to put Bharat NCAP (National Car Assessment Program) in place. The tests for Indian cars will include a frontal crash, a side crash, and pedestrian protection test.

India will also have a rating mechanism where each car would be awarded stars depending on their fuel economy.

Source: Economic Times