Airbags, seat belt reminders, speed alert systems mandatory in cars from July 2019

31/10/2017 - 17:55 Maruti Swift, Maruti Suzuki Dhruv Saxena

The Union Road Transport Ministry has approved an ordinance that will require every car manufactured after July 1, 2019 to be equipped with certain features aimed at enhancing the safety of its occupants.

Airbags part of mandatory safety features in cars from July 2019 — The list of mandatory safety equipment includes airbags, seat belt reminders, speed alert systems, reverse parking sensors, and manual central locking override.

The mandatory safety features will include airbags, seat belt reminders, alert systems for speed above 80 km/h, manual override for central locking and reverse parking alerts. While airbags have trickled down to the entry level products like the Maruti Alto and Renault Kwid, they are still not offered as standard fitment. The list of mandatory safety fitments does not include ABS.

According to road accidents data for 2016, out of the total 1.51 lakh fatalities, speeding was deemed as the cause of 74,500 prompting the ministry to make speed alert systems mandatory. A transport ministry official said -

The new cars will be fitted with a system that issues audio alerts when the speed crosses 80kmph. The alert will be sharper when the vehicle crosses 100kmph, and non-stop when it's over 120 kmph.

Speed governors were made mandatory for all cabs plying in Delhi earlier this year in May limiting their speed to 80 km/h.