ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) To Become Mandatory In India

Updated: Friday, September 7, 2018, 17:31 [IST]

ADAS To Become Standard In Indian Cars: Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Nitin Gadkari, shared that the government is planning to make ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) as a mandatory feature in upcoming cars. The ministry aims to implement the plan on all new vehicles (heavy-duty included) by early-2022.

ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) To Become Mandatory In India — Nitin Gadkari

ADAS is a safety package which includes features such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC) or traction control, ABS, lane assist and adaptive cruise control. All these features combined, any vehicle will have far lesser chances of involving in an accident when compared to a regular car.

ADAS is essentially related to the braking capability of vehicles. As per studies, most accidents happen due to ineffective braking rather than just high speeds. To an extent, the effectiveness of braking depends on the driver too. ADAS, being a combination of many safety features, could reduce this possibility.

An official from the Ministry of Transport told the Times Of India,"We have already held one round of discussion with the stakeholders including the industry. This feature is likely to become mandatory in some western countries by 2021. So, we are also advancing our plan".

As of now, very few manufacturers offer vehicles with ADAS. Among those automakers are Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Auto — two major names in the automotive industry when it comes to safety. However, being premium brands, the form of ADAS used is much more sophisticated than what can be implemented on a large scale.

Some forms of ADAS can also include blind-spot warning and driver fatigue monitoring. At this point, it is not sure whether such advanced features would come to all cars but sources suggest that autonomous emergency braking is surely in the plans.

Hopefully, the new move can reduce the rising road casualty rates in India.

Thoughts On Making ADAS Mandatory In India

Currently, the road casualty rate in India is almost near 1.5 lakh a year; one of the highest in the world. If ADAS comes as a standard feature on all new vehicles sold in India, the rate of road-related deaths will come down by a good margin. However, if brands have to implement such a feature on all cars, the cost of production and also the final market price will shoot up. Even today, many cars are not offered more than two airbags or ABS to cut costs.

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