New rules coming soon! Seat belt alarm, speed alert system to be mandatory in cars

In an effort to further enhance vehicular and road safety, the government has come up with a draft notification for introducing a new set of rules wherein automakers will have to mandatorily provide seat belt reminders to all the occupants. The draft is for M (vehicles having at least four wheels and used for the carriage of passengers) and N (Power-driven vehicles having at least four wheels and used for the carriage of goods) category vehicles.

As per the draft notification, the below rules could soon become mandatory in cars:
1. Speed alert system to alert driver in case of over speeds
2.  Driver and co-driver all other front facing seat occupants’ safety belt reminder
3.  Manual override for central locking system
4. Driver Airbag and co-driver airbag (passenger airbag)

The requirements of the vehicle reverse parking alert system shall be applicable to all M and N category vehicles, as defined in AIS-053. Child safety lock system shall not be permitted for M1 category Transport vehicles, the notification said.

A safety belt reminder is a system dedicated to alerting the driver when the driver and other occupants do not use the belt. The system is constituted by the detection of an unfastened safety belt and by a driver's alert which is a first level warning and a second level warning.

The last date to share comments on the draft is October 5, 2022.

The death of businessman and former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry in a road accident earlier this month prompted the government to renew the push toward passenger safety in cars.
 

According to the draft notification, there will be 3-level alarm warning:
Level 1: Video warning when the car engine is running and front facing seat occupants’ safety belt is not fastened.

Level 2: Visual and audible warning activated when a driver operates a vehicle without fastening the driver and/or co-drivers front-facing seat occupants’ safety belt.

Level 3: The alarm will continue to ring even if someone unbuckles the seat belt during the journey.

Ensuring there are no loopholes:
It will be mandatory for the seat belt to be stretched by at least 10 mm. This will prevent any product used to get rid of the warning alarm.
Reverse alarm will be mandatory in all M, N category vehicles