New Delhi: Arguing that 13,022 lives could have been saved in 2020 if cars were equipped with functional airbags, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday said that new rules making six airbags mandatory in cars are being notified by the Union Government. The Union Minister said the new norms have been notified by the Transport Ministry adding that from October 1 all vehicles are required to be equipped with six airbags including side airbags. "Every year, we face five lakh accidents and 1.5 lakh deaths. For that reason, we are now taking a number of measures. Six airbags are now mandatory. We have taken a decision to make it mandatory for the economy models also," said .
He also said that 25,289 people were killed in head-on collisions in 2020 and 30 per cent of lives in frontal collisions can be saved by airbags. "In 2020 alone, 8,598 lives could have been saved in head-on collisions with the use of airbags. Similarly, side collisions cost 14,271 lives and 31 per cent of those or 4,424 lives could have been saved with the use of side airbags," added Gadkari. "We want to protect the lives of people and that is why we are going to start this rating system, which is going to qualitatively improve the automobile sector and at the same time, there will be more exports that will lead to more employment potential and growth for the country," said Gadkari.
The Union Minister stated in a separate written reply stated that The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is working on a proposal in consultation with the stakeholders to formulate a plan which would test and assess the star rating of a car under the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (BNCAP). "The proposed assessment will allocate a rating of one to five stars," Gadkari added. Gadkari in another written reply stated that 1,58,964 two-wheeler road accidents took place in the country resulting in 56,873 deaths. As for 2019, he said 56,136 deaths occurred due to two-wheeler accidents adding that a total of 1,67,184 bikes were involved in them.
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