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Ivan Leon
Executive Member
- Joined
- May 27, 2008
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The government is trying to water down the safety standards for cars to suit Indian carmakers and Indian conditions.
A close examination of the BN VSAP—or Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Programme—reveals that the specifications of many safety standards, including crash tests, have been reduced (or worse eliminated) in the new rules proposed from 2017.
This includes a reduced frontal crash test speed; test of impact on different parts of the body; and the use of child dummies in some cases.
Industry sources say the government accepted BN VASP norms because of the intense pressure from carmakers who felt that if international norms were followed, Indian cars would become significantly more expensive.
“One has to take a pragmatic approach here,” says Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India. “We have had no norms at all and following global norms will make a large number of budget cars unaffordable.”
The Indian car industry has seen low to negative growth in the last few years and prices have increased with the removal of excise duty relief. Any further increase in prices will be counter-productive.
Interestingly, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari—who has initiated reforms in the road transport sector, including changes in the registration and licensing system—had only last month said there would be no compromise on safety standards and all cars would have to be fitted with safety features.
Yet the new rules will propose to have reduced requirements.
Under*standably, a government favourably inc*lined tow*ards industry has come up with standards that would suit carmakers.
The issue of safety standards arose when many popular Indian cars failed the global New Car Assessment Progra*mme (NCAP) crash tests last October. This was the second time after January 2014 that Indian cars had failed the tests.
India has so far been following UN regulations and was a signatory to the 1998 agreement along with US, Japan and Europe on road safety requirements.
Read the full article at:
http://www.outlookindia.com/article/We-The-Crash-Test-Dummies/293254
A close examination of the BN VSAP—or Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Programme—reveals that the specifications of many safety standards, including crash tests, have been reduced (or worse eliminated) in the new rules proposed from 2017.
This includes a reduced frontal crash test speed; test of impact on different parts of the body; and the use of child dummies in some cases.
Industry sources say the government accepted BN VASP norms because of the intense pressure from carmakers who felt that if international norms were followed, Indian cars would become significantly more expensive.
“One has to take a pragmatic approach here,” says Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India. “We have had no norms at all and following global norms will make a large number of budget cars unaffordable.”
The Indian car industry has seen low to negative growth in the last few years and prices have increased with the removal of excise duty relief. Any further increase in prices will be counter-productive.
Interestingly, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari—who has initiated reforms in the road transport sector, including changes in the registration and licensing system—had only last month said there would be no compromise on safety standards and all cars would have to be fitted with safety features.
Yet the new rules will propose to have reduced requirements.
Under*standably, a government favourably inc*lined tow*ards industry has come up with standards that would suit carmakers.
The issue of safety standards arose when many popular Indian cars failed the global New Car Assessment Progra*mme (NCAP) crash tests last October. This was the second time after January 2014 that Indian cars had failed the tests.
India has so far been following UN regulations and was a signatory to the 1998 agreement along with US, Japan and Europe on road safety requirements.
Read the full article at:
http://www.outlookindia.com/article/We-The-Crash-Test-Dummies/293254
