Indian auto companies get proactive on passenger safety

To curtail the rising numbers of fatalities from motor accidents, many carmakers are planning to install passenger safety devices in their new products as a standard fitment.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited, India's leading passenger vehicle maker, has already introduced dual airbags and anti lock brake system (ABS) for all options across its Baleno, Swift and Celerio hatchbacks, including the base version.

RS Kalsi, Executive Director for Marketing & Sales at Maruti Suzuki, says, "By offering airbags for driver and co-driver, and ABS from the base variant onwards in Celerio, we are making it more attractive to strap these safety features much ahead of any mandatory regulations."     

Other companies too are taking steps for passenger safety. Toyota Kirloskar Motor has already made airbag standard across all its cars sold in India and so has Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, for all its products sold in the domestic market.

South Korean car maker Hyundai too has plans to bring the necessary safety apparatus on its passenger car models.

"We would be bringing all the necessary safety features in our cars as the market demands. We are already selling quality cars in India on par with European markets," said Hyundai Motor India MD YK Koo, at the launch of 'Safety Campaign' for school children in New Delhi.

Nearly 1.4 lakh people in India die in motoring accidents every year. This is the highest tally in the world and forms 10 per cent of the global accidental deaths every year.

To prevent road accidents, Hyundai has initiated Safe Move under its official 'Traffic Safety Campaign', a programme that educates  children on traffic safety through both online and offline engagement channels.

The company plans to introduce Robocar Poli animation series on Hungama TV to educate children on passenger safety. The 26 episode series will be available in English, Hindi and Tamil languages.