Airbags mandatory from April 1: All you need to know

The central government has made front passenger airbags mandatory for all vehicles. Issuing the order on March 5, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said that the new rule will require all new vehicles to have dual front airbags as standard fitment from April 1, 2021. Meanwhile, existing vehicles will be required to be sold with dual airbags from August 31, 2021.

The Ministry has mandated that: “Vehicles manufactured on and after the April 1, 2021, in the case of new models, and August 31, 2021, in the case of existing models, shall be fitted with airbags for the person occupying the front seat, other than the driver.”

The Centre also in the notification said that the airbag will need to meet the AIS 145 standard under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications.

Why are airbags so important?

• India accounts for 10% of all road crash victims in the world, as per a recent World Bank report. The second airbag in front will improve safety levels by reducing the intensity of the impact in case of a mishap, and will provide added protection for the passenger sitting next to the driver.

• An airbag pops up as a protective cushion between the passenger and the car’s dashboard during a collision.

• In moderate to severe frontal crashes, front airbags are designed to inflate in order to prevent a person’s head and chest from contacting hard structures in the vehicle.

• In a country where 415 people die in road accidents every day, an airbag can literally be a lifesaver.

• Research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an agency of the United States federal government, has revealed that 44,869 lives have been saved by frontal airbags.

• NHTSA estimates that a combination of airbags and seat belts bring down risk of death in frontal crashes by 61 per cent, with airbags alone accounting for 34 per cent reduction.