Vehicle manufacturers will be required to provide seat belts for all passengers who sit facing the front of the car.
Overview
Automobile companies will now have to make it mandatory for all people sitting in the car to provide ‘three point’ seat belts. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told in a press conference on Thursday that now there will be a safety belt for the person sitting in the middle of the back seat.
Nitin Gadkari has ordered car manufacturers to make three-point seat belts mandatory on all car seats. He said that three-point seat belts will have to be provided for the middle passenger in the back seat of the car. Currently, three-point seat belts are provided in most cars for both the front seat and the two people in the back row. There is only a two-point or lap seat belt for the center or middle rear seat. Keeping in view the safety of the passenger, the government has decided to increase the number of seat belts.
However, when the new rule will come into force, the minister has not announced it. At present, most of the cars manufactured in the country have three point seat belts only for the driver and the person sitting in the front seat and both the person sitting towards the back door. Some vehicles have a two-point safety belt for the person in the back seat, similar to an aircraft seat belt.
1.5 Lakh People Die in Road Accidents Every Year
Gadkari said, about 1.5 lakh people die every year in five lakh road accidents. In such a situation, the need of the hour is to increase the safety standards. For this, there is also a need to conduct awareness campaign on a large scale. The government had last month made it mandatory for vehicles with a seating capacity of eight to have at least six air bags, similar to those of car makers. This rule was to start from October this year.
The government is working continuously for the safety of both the car and the passenger. It has already mandated 6 to 7 safety features in the base variant of any car. In such a situation, now a new rule has been made to make three-point belt mandatory for all the seats of the car. Not only this, the work of giving safety standard rating will also be done by the government for how safe the cars sold in the country are.
Actually, the government is planning to implement its own safety standards for the vehicles sold in the country. It will make renewed efforts towards improving road and vehicle safety in the country. Including the world’s worst road safety record. Currently, safety ratings are given by the Global and European NCAP.
3 Errors in Global NCAP’s Safety Rating
- Rating the base variant of a car by doing a crash test.
- To test the top variant of the company which is paying.
- Selling copyrights by conducting volunteer crash tests.
Car Safety Rating:
All the companies give different safety features on every model and variant of their car. It includes features like airbags, ABS, EBD, safety belt, back sensor, camera, speed alert. When a car is crash tested, it is rated on the basis of these safety features.
Who gives the Safety Rating:
The work of assigning safety ratings to all cars around the world is done by Global NCAP and European NCAP. Global NCAP is part of the Towards Zero Foundation. This is a UK charity organization. These organizations give safety ratings by doing crash tests of different cars or their variants.
Process to get safety rating:
The car is crash tested for safety rating. For this a human-like dummy is used. During the test, the vehicle is collided with a hard object at a fixed speed. During this 4 to 5 dummies are used in the car. There is a baby dummy in the back seat. It is fixed on the child safety seat.
Meaning of safety rating:
After crash test the car’s airbags worked or not. How much damage was done to the dummy? How well did the other safety features of the car work? Rating is given on the basis of all these. This rating helps the customers to buy a safer car.
How accurate is the safety rating:
Many companies get the test conducted by paying money to NCAP. This test is called Volunteer Test. Its special thing is that all the cost of crash test is borne by the car maker. In this test, the transaction of money improves the rating of the car. This is the reason why many companies in the country do not support this test.
Role of Government in Safety Rating:
The Government of India has not given permission to anyone on its behalf to conduct the crash test. In such a situation, Global NCAP personally tests the base variants of the cars by buying them from the market on their personal ability.
What will be the vehicle safety standard of the country?
The name of India’s crash test system is Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP). It was supposed to start in 2018, but due to some reason it could not start. After the statement of Nitin Gadkari, it is believed that the government will implement it soon. This is a similar program to the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) already existing in India. The software on which BNVSAP will work will be procured from NCAP itself.