8-seater cars will have 6 airbags: Govt | India is blooming

New Delhi/UNI: In a bid to improve passenger safety, the government has decided to require car manufacturers to provide six airbags in motor vehicles that can seat up to eight people.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued a draft notice to amend the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) 1989 and implement the new rule.

“A draft notification was issued on January 14, 2022, which stipulates that vehicles of category M1, manufactured after October 1, 2022, must be equipped with two side/side torso airbags, one each for persons occupying the first row outboard seating positions, and two side curtain/tube airbags, one each for those occupying the outboard seating positions,” MoRTH said in a statement on Saturday.

An airbag is a vehicle occupant restraint system that interferes between the driver and the vehicle’s dashboard during a collision, preventing serious injury.

The proposed rule would minimize the impact of frontal and side collisions on occupants seated in the front and rear compartments of the vehicle.

“This is a crucial step in making motor vehicles in India safer than ever,” said Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The MoRTH had made the driver’s airbag compulsory equipment on all motor vehicles of category M1 (motor vehicles assigned to the transport of passengers, having no more than eight seats, in addition to the driver’s seat), manufactured from the 1st July 2019 to ensure driver safety.

Subsequently, the Ministry made the installation of the front airbag for the person occupying the front seat, other than the driver, mandatory in all vehicles of category M1 from 1 January 2022.

Now it has been decided that 4 additional airbags will be mandatory in the M1 vehicle category.

The added functionality is expected to increase the cost to automakers, and in the event that they pass it on to car prices for end customers, they may see a marginal increase.