New Delhi: In a move aimed at making roads safer for people, the government has decided to introduce stringent safety norms under which all new cars will have to undergo mandatory crash tests from October 2017.
"The government is finally enforcing stringent crash test norms to be mandatory for all new cars from October 2017, while for upgrades of existing models, the deadline will be from October 2018,” Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Rajan Katoch said today.
"New minimum safety norms, including frontal and side crash tests, will apply to all cars including entry level, small and cheaper models. As per the new order, cars would be tested for frontal crash norms at 56 kmph, while for the side crash test, it will be at 50 kmph," Katoch said addressing a conference on 'road safety' here.
The International Road Federation (IRF) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways jointly organized the conference. The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has developed a comprehensive testing facility at Chakan, near Pune, to crash test the new vehicles, he said as per a statement issued by IRF. The new test facility offers a range of crash tests such as full-frontal impact, side impact and offset-frontal impact etc. From now on, all these tests can be carried out for the first time in India, he added.
Director, ARAI, Rashmi Urdhwareshe said Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Programme (BNVSAP), on lines of New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) in other countries, is likely to judge cars in line with developed market parameters.
"These crash test norms and assessment programmes have been adopted from the best practices across all entry major countries such as Japan, Europe and the US that have helped develop the most ideal mix for India," she added.
The developments assume significance as India accounts for one of the highest numbers of global road accidents—5 lakh per annum in which approximately 1.5 lakh people die and about 3 lakh are crippled for life every year.
