Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the government will make it mandatory for car makers to provide at least six airbags in motor vehicles that can carry eight passengers. Measures have been taken to ensure enhanced safety of the occupants.
“We have decided to make it mandatory to have at least six airbags in motor vehicles. We want to save lives,” the Road Transport and Highways Minister said during the Intel India Safety Pioneers Conference 2022. Around 1.5 lakh people die in five lakh accidents across the country.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in January said that in order to enhance the safety of occupants of motor vehicles against side effects, it has been decided to enhance the safety features by amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989.
“A draft notification has been issued on January 14, 2022, which states that M1 class vehicles manufactured after October 1, 2022, shall be equipped with two side/side torso air bags, one for each person in the front row. One position each for outboard seating, and two side curtain/tube air bags, one each for outboard seating,” it had said.
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system that intervenes between the driver and the vehicle’s dashboard during a collision, preventing serious injuries.