Starting October 2017, All new cars sold in India will need to go through mandatory crash tests

Although its been a long time coming, starting October 2017, all new cars to be sold in India will need to go through a mandatory crash test which involves a frontal impact test at 56 kph and a side impact test set for 50 kph. The Government hasn’t overlooked pedestrian safety and has issued a notification which mentions that apart from passing these impact tests, the external panels on new cars will have to be designed in a way that minimizes injury, in the unfortunate event of a pedestrian being hit.

New safety standards will be specified for car makers to adhere to, after road transport officials held a discussion with manufacturers. The authorities questioned manufacturers, as when they can produce and export cars which meet international safety standards, why can’t they sell similar products in the domestic market? In response, some of the car makers have already started work on meeting the standards and might comply with them before the set deadline.

For existing car models, there will be a grace period of two years to pass the frontal crash test and an additional year’s time for side crash test since car makers will have to make a few changes to their production line. To improve occupant safety, the road transport ministry will also implement a new standard that will require the steering wheel to behave in a particular way during a frontal impact. We guess ABS and twin airbags have already been considered to be a mandatory fitment on every new car as well. Think they should do something more? How about making ABS and Disc brakes mandatory for two-wheelers? Leave a comment, we’ll hope someone from the government is reading.

Source: ET