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Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Wednesday that the government will not impose a mandatory requirement of six airbags for cars. He made this statement during an event in New Delhi, clarifying that airbags for the front seats have already been made mandatory in vehicles manufactured on and after April 1, 2021.
In September 2022, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had initially declared that starting from October 1, 2023, six airbags would be compulsory for cars in India. This decision was made to enhance the safety of vehicle occupants by amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989.
Airbags serve as vehicle occupant-restraint systems that act as a barrier between the driver and the vehicle’s dashboard during a collision, preventing serious injuries.
Nitin Gadkari had posted the announcement on the social media platform, then known as Twitter, stating, “Considering the global supply chain constraints being faced by the auto industry and its impact on the macroeconomic scenario, it has been decided to implement the proposal mandating a minimum of 6 Airbags in Passenger Cars (M-1 Category) w.e.f 01st October 2023.”
This decision was prompted by a tragic incident in which former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry lost his life in a road accident on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Palghar on September 4, 2022. In the accident, Cyrus Mistry and his friend Jahangir Pandole were killed, while gynecologist Anahita Pandole and her husband Darius Pandole, who were also passengers in the car, sustained major injuries and were hospitalized. The police reported that the airbags in the front seats had deployed, but the rear airbags did not activate as the seatbelts were not engaged.
