Automobile manufacturers will have to put their act together in order to reduce car crashes and fatal deaths on Indian roads. The Government on Tuesday said that all cars- from economy to luxury-will have to prescribe to the minimum safety standards. Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that the Government will set a two-year deadline for all cars makers to include the mandatory safety features in the vehicles.
“All cars from economy to luxury should have the mandatory safety features like front and rear seat belts, dual airbags, anti-lock braking system and child restraint,” said Gadkari. “We will also have a unified driving licensing system as well as automated driving licence tests. This will help us have all the data of the driver, including his driving history online and in one place. So incase, of any incident, we will have access to his antecedents,” he said.
The Government plans to table the Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014 in the Budget Session of the Parliament stipulating such provisions. Nearly five lakh road accidents were reported in 2013 in which more than one lakh people lost their lives. A large percentage of road crash victims were aged between 30 and 44 years.
“We have put up the deadlines for including safety features in new cars for all automobile manufacturers online. Once the car crash testing facilities are ready, we will issue orders for the mandatory tests for all new cars,” said a senior official from the ministry of roads.
The Government has also indicated October 1, 2017 as the deadline for mandating crash tests for all new vehicles. They are setting up two facilities - in Pune (Maharashtra) and Manesar (Haryana) which are slated to ready by end of next year. Only recently, Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of State in the Ministry of Road and Transport, had informed the Rajya Sabha that the Government will mandate offset frontal and side impact crash tests and airbags will be required to meet the regulations.
The Government is also working on setting up a unified authority for road safety and other allied issues through an executive order. This authority would deal with issues including norms for issuing driving licences, crash test and safe vehicle designs. This will also pave the way for the tabling of Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014.
