From Zero to Six: How Airbags Became A Must-Have Feature In Indian Cars

Invented in the 1950s, this piece of safety equipment was made mandatory in Indian cars only in 2019

The Indian automotive industry is still young when compared to some of the more developed countries in the world but it has grown and evolved rapidly in the 2000s and 2010s. As a market with a heightened sensitivity towards affordability and running costs, all other aspects such as design, performance and safety of the mass-market models had taken a backseat for the longest time. 

Fast forward to the late 2010s and India still has some of the highest rates of road accident fatalities in the world. By bringing more attention to the matter and initiatives from global agencies to educate Indian buyers on the importance of vehicle safety even in the most affordable models, carmakers and the government bodies have responded to buyer concerns. Some brands like Volkswagen and Honda started making passenger safety the key attraction for their models with a growing list of safety features, especially airbags. In fact, these days if you’re spending over Rs 10 lakh on a car, one of the main safety questions from buyers has become “Kitne Airbags Hai?” 

Let’s see how this safety feature has come to become a hot topic in terms of the Indian automotive industry.

How Do Airbags Work?

Airbags are meant to shield the passengers’ head, neck, or chest areas from hitting the insides of a car in the event of an accident. Airbags are activated by sensors that detect a foreign object’s impact at speeds of 20-40 kmph or higher. Budget cars usually get dual front airbags only, which deploy from both the steering wheel and dashboard. Sensors for front airbags are usually positioned between the front bumper while those for side airbags are located on the doors. Higher end cars have as many as 10 airbags.

The various stages of airbag deployment occur within mere milliseconds to ensure passenger safety. From the sensors sending the signal, to the reactive process to trigger the airbag and even their inflation, it all happens within fractions of a second.

Throwback To No Airbags

A decade ago, airbags were a rare feature in budget cars often reserved for top-end variants or offered as optional extras. In fact, base variants used to be barebones and lacked even basic safety features like ABS (anti-lock braking system) or rear parking sensors. This meant that back then head-on collisions in compact hatchbacks at highway speeds were often considered fatal. Eventually, attitudes towards safety started to change.

The Volkswagen Polo was one of the first budget cars to get airbags as standard. Other carmakers like Honda and Toyota soon followed suit while Tata, Mahindra, and Renault began to offer dual front airbags from mid-spec variants. The only manufacturer that lagged behind was Maruti Suzuki, which didn’t offer airbags as standard even in their top-end variants. You had to shell out extra for getting this feature.

As of 2019, the government made it mandatory for all cars to offer a driver airbag, resulting in entry-level models of most brands offering this feature.

Also Read: Cars With Six Airbags

The Standard Safety Package Now

The automotive safety landscape has evolved considerably over time. Starting January 2022, the Indian government mandated dual front airbags as a standard safety feature and aims to increase that number to six by October this year. Global NCAP has also started conducting crash tests cars and awarding safety ratings, leading buyers to consider these scores when making purchasing decisions. This has led manufacturers to modify their safety features list with some sub-Rs 10 lakh cars offering six airbags in their top-spec variants to get a better safety rating. 

Notably, the Ford Figo and Freestyle were among the most affordable cars with six airbags. Today, six airbags is what buyers are demanding for their money as cars have gotten significantly pricier. Some models in the Rs 10-15 lakh range, like Hyundai Verna, Creta, and Kia Seltos get this feature as standard. 

More Airbags Don’t Make A Safe Car

The regulatory bodies in India have been intently focused on improving road safety by requiring carmakers to offer more airbags as standard kit. However, they are misguided in their pursuit as there are many other aspects that can improve passenger safety besides increased passive safety equipment. The Kia Carens, for example, was one of the first mass-market models to offer six airbags as standard but received only a three-star safety rating while cars with just dual front airbags were getting five stars in the same tests. The structural integrity of a car needs to improve significantly to make a car significantly safer. Here’s our detailed take on it. 

Fun Fact: when airbags were first introduced in cars in countries like the USA, some brands considered them as replacements for seatbelts. Luckily, that idea was short-lived, and millions of drivers were not put at risk.

Even though airbags in cars have been around for decades, manufacturers are still working to make them better and more effective. Meanwhile, the base-level technology should continue to become more affordable, making it less of a burden on car buyers. While airbags may not be the complete solution to concerns about passenger safety, we’re grateful for their invention and standardised implementation.