Global NCAP appeals to SIAM to adopt UN safety standards

Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) has written to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) urging the Indian automobile industry to adopt standards set by the United Nations for the front and side impact for new cars.

Global NCAP has appealed to automakers to take voluntary steps to improve the safety of their vehicles before the Government of India implements new safety norms under Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Programme (BNVSAP). According to the London-based agency, in terms of safety Indian automobile industry is at a position where Europe was twenty years ago.

The appeal has come in the wake of an order from the Gauhati High Court banning the sale and registration of small cars in Assam, which don't meet the crash test norms in the state. Approximately 140 models (including variants) from different manufacturers have been affected by this move (click here to read report).

In January 2014, Global NCAP conducted crash tests of some popular Indian hatchbacks (report 1, report 2). All cars that were not equipped with airbags scored 0. According to the test results, some of the cars had poor structural integrity and fitting airbags in them would not be of much use. The agency had even asked Datsun to pull the Go hatchback out of the market (click here to read report).

Source: Autocar Professional