Mandatory six airbags in cars unlikely from October 1: government sources

The government is likely to delay the introduction of six airbags in passenger cars, which was due to come into force from October 1, 2023, for at least another year.

“There is no consensus on making six airbags mandatory… There is currently nothing written about it and no documents or drafts have been prepared,” a senior government official said business line.

The official added that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is not working on it at present and that the ministry will share the details once the policy decision is ready.

In January 2022, the MoRTH, in a draft notification, had decided to improve safety features for occupants of motor vehicles against side impacts by mandating six airbags in all M1 category vehicles.

M1 vehicles

According to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989, the M1 vehicle category refers to passenger vehicles with a maximum of eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat and includes hatchbacks, sedans and multi/sport utility vehicles (MUVs/SUVs).

Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, also announced this at many public events and said that safety of passengers was important. In the Lok Sabha, he even said, “The industry was upset because I made six airbags mandatory in economic models… They said the cost would go up, but I said it should go up… If a poor man dies, let him die.” and save.” the rich man, right? From now on, every car, regardless of whether it is a small model or a nano model, will have six airbags.”

Car manufacturers were told to install two side/side torso airbags (for a side impact), one for each of the people sitting in the front row outboard seats. and two side curtain/tubular airbags (mounted on the side structure of the vehicle interior), one each for the persons occupying the outboard seats.

However, on September 29, 2022, he announced that the deadline to implement this decision had been extended by one year (October 1, 2023) as automobile manufacturers faced supply chain issues.

“In view of the global supply chain constraints faced by the automotive industry and their impact on the macroeconomic scenario, it has been decided to implement the proposal requiring at least six airbags in passenger vehicles (M-1 category) from October 1, 2023. ” he had said.

Anticipating that the government would make six airbags mandatory, companies like Hyundai Motor India have already started installing six airbags as standard in their vehicles including Creta, Alcazar, Ioniq 5, Tucson and even the recently launched Exter. Only the small car Grand i10 Nios and the compact sedan Aura currently have four airbags as standard.