Crash cushion

New Delhi, Oct. 24: The ministry of road transport is planning to make airbags mandatory in passenger vehicles.

An airbag is a rubber envelope fitted inside a vehicle which blows into a soft pillow during a car crash, minimising the impact on a passenger.

The ministry’s central motor vehicle technical standing committee will hold a meeting on this issue with various stakeholders.

S.K. Dash, joint secretary in the ministry of road transport, said, “The issue of making airbags mandatory in all passenger cars will be taken up at this meeting.”

Most car manufacturers in the country seem to be unaware of such a development.

However, they are ready to provide airbags across all variants of their existing and new models.

“To the best of our knowledge there have been no discussions on this issue. We have not got any formal communication from the government or the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM),” said P. Balendran, vice-president, corporate affairs, General Motors India.

Maruti too was unaware but said it would not be difficult to provide airbags in all cars if it was necessary “since we have the technology and are already providing it in some of our cars”.

Carmakers, however, believe making airbags compulsory will add to costs. According to Arvind Saxena, vice-president (marketing and sales), Hyundai Motors India, an airbag could increase the cost of a vehicle by Rs 35,000-40,000. Moreover, once an airbag gets inflated it cannot be re-used.

“Is it not necessary to first have a proper driving culture in place before making it mandatory to have airbags? Use of any safety device completely depends on the mindset of people. Otherwise why do we still see passengers not wearing their seatbelts despite it being a law?” said K.K. Gandhi, director of SIAM.

At present, airbags are company fitted in high-end cars but can be installed in small cars if the customer desires. A few months back, the ministry of textiles had sent a proposal to the Planning Commission to make airbags mandatory.

The textile ministry argued that airbags, which are made of nylon industrial yarn, will enhance the use of the fibre in addition to ensuring safety for passengers.

The matter is now being discussed by the ministry for road transport and highways and the ministry of heavy industries.