RoadMin to bring mandatory crash testing norms soon

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will soon come out with mandatory crash testing norms for passenger cars.

"The government is planning to mandate the offset frontal crash test and side impact crash test norms for passenger cars," Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan informed the Rajya Sabha today.

To meet these regulations, majority of car manufacturers will need to have several in-built safety devices, including air bags. He said the facilities are being built for the requisite test under National Automotive Testing and Research and Development Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) initiative.

"Once these facilities are ready, the regulations will be implemented," Radhakrishnan said. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) is a member of the Standing Committee on the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, which decides the implementation issues. Automobile manufacturers provide their viewpoints from time to time in this forum along with other stakeholders.