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“Safety of all small vehicles is my concern. If the government says it is ready to follow the standards specified in the Act, I have no issues,” Rita Das Mozumdar said.
Until recently, Rita Das Mozumdar, 50, advocate at the high court in Guwahati, was not aware of the safety standards followed by small cars such as the Alto, Swift and Eon.
On studying the topic, she claims to have found that cars weighing up to 1,500 kg do not meet the specifications laid down by the Motor Vehicles Act. “There is a violation of the statute itself. We are not talking of international safety standards,” she told Business Standard.
Mozumdar, who who owns a Hyundai Eon, Maruti Suzuki Ritz and Mahindra Xylo, decided to file a public interest suit in her personal capacity. She contended that small passenger cars manufactured in India do not conform to safety standards.
“Safety of all small vehicles is my concern. If the government says it is ready to follow the standards specified in the Act, I have no issues,” she said.
The petition is being heard but in the interim, car companies have been barred from selling small vehicles and registration has also been stopped. The next date of hearing is August 27.
“If the government and companies believe the standards are being met, they should tell the court,” said Mozumdar.
Assam is a small market, about two per cent of the annual national passenger vehicle sale of 2.6 million. Maruti Suzuki sells approximately 2,200 vehicles a month, while Hyundai does 1,250.
Industry executives expressed concern on the impact on customers who have booked a car and dealers sitting on stocks.
An industry executive said the regulations are made by government and certified by the Automotive Research Association of India.
Mozumdar argues small vehicles have not passed the frontal impact test as required under the law and have been freely sold without conforming to the requisite standard of safety.
She claimed that under section 110 of the 1988 Act, it is mandated that rules and regulations have to be made with regard to safety standards; the central government has only issued standing orders prescribing safety measures, without formulating rules.
The government came up with a notification early this year mandating all manufacturers to install safety features such as airbags and an anti-lock brake system (ABS) in all cars by 2017 to meet the mandatory crash test requirements.
Cars of all new models will have to meet the minimum frontal and side-crash tests, as well as a pedestrian protection test from October 2017.
Prices of entry-level cars could go up by Rs 30,000 each, once these features are added.
“If the price goes up, let it be. We cannot take chances with precious lives,” said Mozumdar. India, accounting for about one per cent of the world vehicle population, is home to 15 per cent of all traffic fatalities, say World Bank estimates.
“Crash test norms and airbags cannot stop accidents but the casualties can come down,” she added.