Just a few days back the government announced that crash testing will be mandatory for all new cars in India from October 2017. To make the case even stronger, Nitin Gadkari announced that all cars, including the cheapest entry level ones will have to meet the minimum safety standards.
This proclamation by the Transport Minister has brought in a great ray of hope that one day cars sold in India will be safe, as is the case in a lot of developed and developing countries. A certain level of basic safety fitment is the least one can expect when one invests so much of hard earned money into buying a car. To bring to light how disastrous our current rules are – the left side ORVM (outside rear view mirror) is optional and hence you see a lot of entry level variants missing out on this essential feature!
As per a report on Economic Times, all cars will be tested for occupant safety with frontal and rear impact test at 56 kmph, that’s the same speed at which NCAP teats cars in Europe. Cars will also be given star ratings on the basis of safety features they have. Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Programme (BNVSAP), the body which will be overlooking the entire crash testing process, will be deciding the minimum standards for manufacturers to adapt to. Although initially it will be voluntary for car makers to make their new cars safer, but from October 2017, all new cars will have to be fitted with safety features to comply with the minimum safety standards.
Features like ABS, ESC, EBD and airbags will shoot up the prices but safety should not be compromised for a small one time investment. Manufacturers in India have already started raising their voices against this move by the government, and as per the report, some even claim that car prices will shoot up by 30 per cent if safety features are added.
We are sure with mass usage and enhanced production prices of these safety equipments will also come down and the price increase will be minimum!
