Centre to make 6-airbag safety norm mandatory from October 2023, says Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that the government has decided to implement the proposal mandating 6 airbags in passenger cars with effect from October 1, 2023. Gadkari cited global supply chain constraints faced by the automobile industry and its impact on the macroeconomic scenario. He also said, “Safety of all passengers travelling in motor vehicles irrespective of their cost and variants is the foremost priority.”

Earlier, the deadline to implement the mandatory six airbags rule was October 1 this year. Business Today had earlier reported that the government is likely to miss the October 1 deadline to implement the rule of mandatory six airbags in a car. Sources said at the time, “We are still in discussions with the stakeholders and want safer cars on roads as soon as possible.” 

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways proposed in a draft notification in January this year that passenger vehicles or 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, which in total adds up to six airbags per car.”

An airbag is a passenger-restraint system that works as a barrier between the driver and the vehicle’s dashboard during a collision and, in turn, helps in preventing grievous injuries. 

While the issue of car safety and the importance of airbags was always big on the Centre’s checklist, it gained more prominence after the death of the former Tata Sons’ chairman Cyrus Pallonji Mistry in a road accident on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway recently. As per the police, Mistry and former KPMG director Jehangir Pandole were sitting in the back seat. While the driver and the other passenger on the front seat survived, Mistry and Pandole could not make it as they neither buckled up their seat belts nor were the airbags deployed.  

As per Rule 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), passengers seated in the rear seat not wearing seat belts can be levied a fine of around Rs 1,000. The rule reads, “In all motor vehicles, in which seat belts have been provided it shall be ensured that the driver and the person seated in the front seat wear the seat belts while the vehicle is in motion.”