Cars To Become Safer From October: Six Airbags Made Mandatory

This decision to mandate six airbags will improve the safety of passengers in cars to a significant extent. However, the only downside for this action will be the increased production cost resulting in cars becoming even more expensive to own.

Previously, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had mandated dual front airbags, rear parking sensors and ABS for cars sold in India. This move had a significant effect on automotive safety in the country as basic safety measures have been mandated.

The new notification from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that mandated the six airbags for cars is crucial for the safety of passengers if the car involves in a sideways collision.

Many types of research conducted have shown that cars equipped with side curtain airbags can reduce the risk of fatality in case of sideways collision or rollover.

As of now, only a few cars in the country get six or more airbags as standard and most of these cars belong to the premium segment that cost upward of Rs 25 lakhs.

However, with this rule in place, even the entry-level cars from respective manufacturers will come with six airbags as standard. Thus, improving the safety of the car by a significant extent.

Recently, the top-spec 'Style' variant of the Skoda Kushaq received an update. With this new update, the Skoda Kushaq Style variant now receives 6 airbags and a TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System).

Previously, even the top-spec Style variant of Skoda Kushaq skipped these safety features. Since the Czech car manufacturer had received a huge backlash from customers for skipping six airbags, Skoda proceeded to add this feature via an update to the model.

This new update adds 4 more airbags and TPMS to the top-end Style variant of Skoda Kusaq, and both the 1.0-litre TSI AT and 1.5-litre TSI AT variants get these added safety features.

However, this added safety kit from Skoda has also increased the prices on the top-end Style variant of Skoda Kushaq by Rs 40,000.

It is also worth noting that the manual version of the Skoda Kushaq Style variant had these safety features from the launch day itself.

Thoughts About MoRTH's Decision To Mandate Six Airbags

This is a much-welcomed decision from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to mandate six airbags for all cars as this will improve the safety of passengers in cars.

Moreover, this will send the right message to automobile manufacturers about the government's intention regarding the safety of cars.