Gadkari urges car makers to follow global norms, provide six airbags

NEW DELHI: Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday urged car manufacturers to provide six airbags including for rear seat passengers, in all variants irrespective of their cost and class. He also asked the manufacturers to roll out flex-fuel vehicles that can run on both 100% ethanol and gasoline in the next one year.


Sources said the minister made the observation about six airbags at a meeting with CEOs from automobile manufacturers association, SIAM, after asking MD and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Kenichi

Ayukawa

how many airbags are provided in all cars in Japan. Ayukawa’s answer was six airbags.

Currently, only two airbags are mandatory for the driver and the passenger in the front seat in India across all models including the most economical ones. There is no study in India so far of how many persons on rear seats in cars get killed in road crashes.

Airbags reduce the chance that your upper body or head will strike the vehicle’s interior during any crash. The passengers need to wear seatbelts to avoid an air-bag-related injury as airbags are designed to work with seat belts and not replace them. India has the mandatory rear seat belt law, though there is hardly any compliance.

Sources said the minister also asked the SIAM and CEOs of automobile companies to step up the manufacturing of flex-fuel engines to reduce dependence on imported crude oil and to boost rural economy. The SIAM has sought time till 2027 to roll out such engines and has also sought the roadmap for alternate fuel availability to push the adoption of such vehicles.

It has also suggested the government prepare a roadmap with price guarantees for flex fuel, which must be made cheaper to encourage people to shift to such vehicles. The mileage of ethanol fuelled vehicles is less than petrol.

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