Centre to make six airbags mandatory in eight-seater vehicles

For passengers’ enhanced safety, the Centre will make it mandatory for carmakers to provide at least six airbags in motor vehicles that can carry up to eight people, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced. Gadkari was speaking at Intel India’s Safety Pioneers Conference 2022.

“The government wants to save the lives of people. Around 1.5 lakh people are killed in 5 lakh accidents across the country. So, the government has decided to make it mandatory to provide a minimum of six airbags in motor vehicles,” Gadkari said.

In January, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had said that to safeguard occupants of motor vehicles against lateral impact, the ministry had decided to improve safety features by amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

“A draft notification has been issued on January 14, 2022, which mandates that vehicles of category M1, manufactured after October 1, 2022, shall be fitted with two side/side torso airbags, one each for the persons occupying front row outboard seating positions, and two side curtain/tube air bags, one each for the persons occupying outboard seating positions," the ministry said.

The road transport and highways ministry also held meetings with automakers, as some of the manufacturers were reluctant about providing six airbags in their cars, because it would increase their production cost further.

Gadkari also wondered why automobile companies were not producing global standard cars in India, when they produce the same model for the international market complying with international standards. “When India reports maximum road crashes and deaths, why are they not taking it seriously,” he said.