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Consumer VOICE organising a Car Safety workshop

by admin | Jun 21, 2017 | Safer Cars GRSP

Consumer VOICE organising a Car Safety workshop

Consumer VOICE,in collaboration with its state partner Citizen Awareness Grouporganized a workshop on Car Safety at Press Club in Chandigarh on June, 21, 2017.

The main objective of the programme is to spread a message that safer cars are needed on Indian roads to save the precious lives. Car safety issues were deliberated during the workshop to make consumers aware of different car safety aspects including basic standards and requirements.

Commenting on the subject, Shri Hemant Upadhyay, advisor IT, VOICE said, “India is World’s sixth largest Car Market and 2.03 million passenger cars are sold in India as per last year’s data. India has been witnessing a spurt in road accidents resulting in the largest number of road deaths and injuries. One of the major reasons behind high causalities in road accidents in the lack of safety features in Indian cars, specially the basic models which sell the most”.

Emphasizing on the need of safety features in the car the representative from Traffic Police, Chandigarh Shri Rajinder Singh, Head Constable, gave various tips on road safety. Besides local car dealers includedGunam Singh General Manager Maruti, Chandigarh Sandeep Deewan and Munish Bansal talked about what should customers looks in car which can save their precious lives in case of any untoward incident.

Shri SurinderVerma,Chairman , Citizen Awareness Group, said, “While buying a car consumers should give preference to safety features not, just its looks, price and other luxuries. Moreover, no real urgency is shown by car manufacturers to incorporate safety features.The event also highlighted the proposed government regulations to make some of these features mandatory for new cars from 1st October 2017 and for all cars by 1st October 2018”.The workshop marked the presence of people from civil societies, students, lawyers, media etc.

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Time is Ripe for Need of Safer Cars in India

by admin | Jan 25, 2017 | Safer Cars GRSP

Time is Ripe for Need of Safer Cars in India

The reason for accidents on Indian roads is not only due to rash or drunken driving. Many accidents occur due to faulty or limited safety features in the car. Over 13 lakh people have been killed in road accidents in India in the past decade, 1.46 lakh people were killed in 2015 alone. However, this is probably an underestimate, as not all injuries are reported to the police.

Accidents occur not only due to the increase in the number of vehicles on the road but also due to the lack of safety features in Indian cars which have been criticized as being insufficient and ineffective compared to developed countries. Safety of vehicles has great role in reducing or preventing road accident fatalities.

Car Safety Features

State of Safety in Indian Cars

India is world’s sixth largest Car Market – 2.03 million passenger cars were sold in India as per last year data. Recently when some of the popular cars in India were tested on NCAP standards, 4 out of 5 got zero rating. The most sold cars in India are devoid of basic safety features such as occupant protection in front/lateral collisions; electronic stability control etc.

Safety is an essential requisite for an automobile to be road-worthy for automobiles. Vehicle collisions are the leading cause of injury-related deaths, an estimated total of 1.2 million in 2004, or 25% of the total from all causes. Thus, safety features in cars need to be improved not only to protect the passengers but to completely eliminate road accidents.

Safe Systems Approach

Safe vehicles are an important part of the Safe Systems approach, as they play a critical role both in averting crashes and reducing the likelihood of serious injury in the event of a crash. Policymakers must give more attention to making vehicles and roads safer. Over the past few decades a combination of regulatory requirements and consumer demand has led to increasingly safe cars in many high-income countries. Many of the features that began as relatively expensive safety “add-ons” in high end vehicles have since become much cheaper and – in some countries – are now mandatory requirements for all vehicles.

Proposed Regulations for Car Safety in India

A Reality Check for Safer Cars on Indian Roads 2017

by admin | Jan 25, 2017 | Safer Cars GRSP

A Reality Check for Safer Cars on Indian Roads 2017

India has one of the world’s largest road networks but sadly we are also home to some of the world’s most unsafe cares. The latest NCAP crash test results suggest cars like Renault Duster, and Chevrolet Enjoy have received zero ratings as far as Adult Occupation Protection category is concerned. What’s more alarming is that Indian consumers are not informed about the different car safety features. It is time that consumers in India are sensitized on the necessary car safety features. One goes for fancy music systems, remote controlled locks or automatic gear – but there is only a minor percentage who seeks report for safer cars!

Rules you Must Know

RULE 125 (1A) of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 (CMVR) makes it mandatory for four wheelers (cars) to have seat belt.Through insertion of a new Section 194B in Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill (MVAB), imposes penalty of INR 1000 for driving without safety belt or carrying passengers (both front & rear) not wearing seat belts.