Nitin Gadkari pushing India to have its own safety standards

Kenneth John Updated: March 18, 2022, 06:22 PM IST

In a fresh attempt to improve road and vehicle safety in India with one of the worst records in the world, India wants to roll out its car safety standards, replicating similar programmes throughout the world.

Road safety is one of India's most important problems, with 1.5 lakh people dying in traffic accidents each year. According to road transport and roads minister Nitin Gadkari, the Bharat New Auto Assessment Programme (NCAP) would assess the safety of new cars and issue star ratings based on their safety and sturdiness, in accordance with the Global NCAP and European NCAP car safety programmes.

MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) plans to make six airbags required on all passenger cars in India with a capacity of up to eight passengers, according to Nitin Gadkari. The Indian government has also been working on Bharat NCAP, an in-house car crash testing programme that would meet international standards.

To improve passenger safety, India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways plans to make electronic stability control (ESC) mandatory. Three-point seatbelts in automobiles would be made mandatory in India for all passengers, including the middle person on the backbench, according to Nitin Gadkari.

In an effort to lower the number of accidents in the nation, Nitin Gadkari also stated that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is now working on making ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) essential for automobiles. Driver assistance systems such as AEBS (advanced emergency braking system), driver drowsiness attention system, blind-spot information system, lane-departure warning system, forward collision warning, and others were highlighted by the Minister.

During a press conference, the minister outlined a number of policies and technical upgrades that the government intends to implement. Gadkari stated that criteria for establishing wheelchair accommodations and recommendations for changing controls for physically challenged persons or those with locomotor difficulties are being created. He also stated that a driver drowsiness attention driving method would be promoted in order to prevent accidents.

On motorways and major highways, the government is considering making a lane departure warning system mandatory, which would alert the driver if the car begins to drift out of its lane. According to Gadkari, the system is aimed to prevent accidents by tackling the primary causes of crashes, such as driver error, distractions, and tiredness.

Nitin Gadkari didn't say when the new car safety requirements will be implemented. Gadkari stated that consumer safety and public knowledge of safety regulations are his ministry's top priorities.

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