From July 2019, the government mandated that all new cars sold had to come with a certain set of safety features. That included rear parking sensors, speed warning alert, anti-lock braking system (ABS) and seatbelt reminder for front-row occupants. As for the airbags, only the driver’s-side one was mandatory. Based on a new report, however, all new cars will soon have to come with dual airbags, at the very least.

So, you might wonder which cars still come with just one airbag in their package. Some of the examples include entry-level versions of the Renault Kwid, Datsun Redi-Go and a few Maruti Suzukis – Alto, S-Presso, Celerio and WagonR. With an additional airbag in place, all those cars will offer better safety to the front passenger and, inevitably, perform better in crash-tests. And yes, the added widget will force car manufacturers to pass on the costs incurred to the customers.

Another norm that is likely to be implemented is the removal of child-safety locks from all four-wheelers used for commercial purposes. The “Okay” nod has been given by the apex technical committee, which looks after defining vehicle standards. As for the implementation, the report suggests that the transport ministry is working on a timeline. Since neither of them is a significant change that manufacturers will have to make, the new norm can be enforced in about a year.

The bigger question is – whether these changes are enough to save lives? How a car performs in an accident depends on several aspects. Apart from the active and passive safety features, the car’s skeleton plays a vital role. Also, the crash-testing regime will be getting tougher shortly. Global NCAP, which runs a campaign called #SaferCarsForIndia, ran just frontal crash tests. However, soon they will be put through side-impact crashes as well. The Mahindra Thar, which recorded an impressive overall score, was put through it.

Story source: ETAuto