Crash Tests Mandatory in India From October 2017

Car manufacturers have been working on bringing in safety features like ABS, EBD and airbags and manufacturers like Ford, Maruti Suzuki, Toyota and Volkswagen have made some features part of standard equipment. But clearly a lot more needs to be done. 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 will also give manufacturers a chance to upgrade their cars to suit these norms and the deadline for that is October 2018. The new minimum safety norms which will include ratings on frontal and side crash tests, will apply to all cars entry level, small and cheaper models.

As per the new order, cars would be tested for frontal crash norms at 56 km/h, while for the side crash test, it will be at 50 km/h. According to Rajan Katoch, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has developed a comprehensive testing facility at Chakan, near Pune, to crash test the new vehicles.

The new test facility will offer a range of crash tests such as full-frontal impact, side impact and offset-frontal impact. All these tests will be done under one roof and it's the first time we'll see these tests done in India.