Vehicles carrying upto 8 passengers to be fitted with minimum 6 airbags: MoRTH draft

Amongst the latest proposal by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has approved a draft notification that will make a minimum of 6 airbags compulsory in motor vehicles carrying upto 8 passengers.

In order to enhance the safety of the occupants in motor vehicles carrying upto 8 passengers, I have now approved a Draft GSR Notification to make a minimum of 6 Airbags compulsory. #RoadSafety #SadakSurakshaJeevanRaksha

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) January 14, 2022

In a series of tweet the minister said that his ‘ministry had already mandated the implementation of fitment of the driver airbag w.e.f July 1, 2019 and front co-passenger airbag January 1, 2022. ...i.e two side/side torso airbags and two side curtain/tube airbags covering all outboard passengers. This is a crucial step to make motor vehicles in India safer than ever.’

India has one of the worst road safety records in the world and a total of 150,000 people are killed, while more than 450,000 people are injured in road accidents every year, resulting in social-economic losses from accident deaths equivalent to a shocking 3.14% of GDP every year. Seventy percent of the fatalities are the age group of 18 to 45 years, impacting the country as a whole.

On the other hand, the government of India is coming out with new regulations that aims to enhance the focus on safety, by mandating OEMs to incorporate active and passive technologies in their vehicles.

If the draft is approved this will further make ‘made in India’ vehicles much more safer.