6 airbags in exported vehicles; why just 4 in Indian units: Nitin Gadkari questions car makers

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, while talking to India Today on Monday, questioned car manufacturers on why they install six airbags in their exported vehicles and just four in Indian units.

Union minister for roads, transport and highways Nitin Gadkari spoke on the road accident that killed former Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry and said the traffic flow on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway is very high and the highway is very dangerous. Gadkari was talking to India Today’s news director Rahul Kanwal on the sidelines of an event by the International Advertising Association (IAA) on Monday.

Gadkari said the highway where Cyrus Mistry’s accident took place was completed by him while he was the Public Works Department (PWD) minister in Maharashtra.

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Talking about the number of airbags in a four wheeler, Gadkari said the process to mandatorily install 6 airbags is already in the process. He said the argument given by manufacturers of economy cars that increasing the number of airbags will significantly impact the cost of the vehicle is fraudulent.

He said, “The same company, when it exports those cars, puts in six airbags but when they make them for the locals, they only put four. Are the lives of the poor not worthy of being saved?”

He further added that the cost of increasing one airbag in a vehicle can come as low as Rs 900.

Talking on road accidents, Gadkari said there is still a lot of work to be done despite India being the second largest road network in the world. He said, “Every year, there are 5 lakh accidents in India and 1,50,000 deaths from road accidents. Out of this, 65 percent of deaths belong to people who belong in the 18-34 age group.”