'Pedestrian Safety' will become a standard feature in all passenger cars in India from October this year, whereby all the cars and SUV's manufactured from that period will be upgraded with the pedestrian protection software.

Earlier in October 2018, the Government of India regulated all new cars to comply with these norms, including a new design of bonnet, to reduce the impact of accidents on the pedestrians and saving precious lives.

As per a report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), of 150,000 people killed in road accidents every year in the country, 60% are pedestrians. Legal requirements and consumer protection tests for pedestrian protection have become significantly stricter in recent years across the world.

Engineered to reduce the level of fatal injuries to pedestrians during a collision with a moving vehicle, this software consists of peripheral sensors in the front part of the vehicle. The airbag control unit uses infrared technology to detect a possible accident thereby triggering the actuators in the vehicle to lift the engine hood to absorb the impending crash (energy) which helps to protect the pedestrian from coming in contact with the hard and rigid engine block.

India has been lagging in terms of automotive safety standards as compared to the US and UK, but now the government has been proactively issuing a host of new stringent regulations. It is also upgrading the existing ones to reduce road fatalities and make them safer for passengers as well as pedestrians.

New and advanced safety features which were earlier confined to luxury vehicles only are gradually becoming mandatory for all vehicles. The year 2019 saw the highest ever implementation of vehicle safety norms, both active and passive, including crash-test norms compliance, anti-lock braking system, speed warning system and airbags to name a few.

Consumer mindset, which was largely tilted towards fuel economy, cost and brands is also now more conscious on safety. There is an increase in inquiries about the safety features in the car.

Electronic stability control (ESC) and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) are some other safety features which will be incorporated in new vehicles by 2022. However one of the main concern of all manufacturers is to bring all the safety features in their vehicles without increasing the overall cost of the vehicle to the customer.