Presentation by Hemant Upadhyay, Head-Projects & IT, Consumer VOICE Blog post link: http://bit.ly/2zSppl8

1. Presentation
by
Consumer VOICE
Voluntary Organisation in Interest of
Consumer Education
www.consumer-voice.org

2. About VOICE:
Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE) is a
consumer protection group set up in 1983 and our mission is Consumer Empowerment.
Working under “JagoGrahakJago” program of Ministry of Consumer Affairs besides
other Ministries, Regulatory bodies, standards organizations, world bodies and Standing
Committees of Parliaments, our work of Comparative Testing for product testing and
services evaluations are for the masses. We are doing advocacy for consumers to
various authorities to benefit consumers across India.
Consumer VOICE magazine: We are publishing
bimonthly magazine called Consumer VOICE in English
and Hindi.
Consumer VOICE Website :www.consumer-voice.org
Consumer VOICE Does not publish any commercial
advertisements and also does not accept
commercial donations to be free from pressure and

3. VOICE has been extremely vigilant to ensure that Consumer Rights continue to be
protected. We were part of the panel to introduce Consumer Protection Act
(CPA) 1986.
We are founding member of Consumer Coordination Council. We are also
member of Consumers International and ICERT UK.
Our strategy is to be an active and forceful member of the policy formulation
bodies / initiative of relevant law-making agencies so that Laws/Acts /Regulations
enacted has the consumer interests fully covered.
To this end VOICE has been recognized by Ministries, Regulators,
Standardization Bodies and at international level also.

4. About the Project
• The overall purpose of this project is to minimize deaths and serious
injuries occurring in or due to car accidents on Indian Roads by enhanced
car safety standards in India at par with global standards.
• Specific Objectives of the Project:
1. To advocate for adoption/creation of regulations/standards for Indian
cars on occupant protection in front collisions; occupant protection in
lateral collisions; seatbelts and seatbelt anchorages; electronic stability
control; and, pedestrian protection at par with global standards.
2. To push the demand for safer passenger car in India by
educating/sensitize consumers and other stakeholders on car safety
• issues at par with global standards.

5. Project Activities
• Desk Research for Advocacy inputs
• Project Planning cum Orientation Meeting
• Representations to Stakeholders
• Awareness Campaign on Car Safety- 10 workshops
• Media Campaign
• Advocacy Seminar cum Stakeholder Consultation

6. Car safety and consumer rights
On 15 March, 1962, US President John F. Kennedy delivered an historic address to the US
Congress, which formed the basis for developing the 8 basic consumer rights recognised
by the consumer movement worldwide. These include:
•The right to safety - To be protected against products, production processes and services
that are hazardous to health or life.
•The right to be informed - To be given the facts needed to make an informed choice, and
to be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising and labelling.
•The right to be heard - To have consumer interests represented in the making and
execution of government policy, and in the development of products and services.

7. WHO : 1,30,000 lives lost on road
every year

8. Unheard voices…
Devender Sachdeva
Pitampura, New Delhi
•Car: Maruti Swift Desire, no airbags
•His wife, mother-in-law, father-in-law and aunt were killed in a collision with a tanker
"I lost my wife, I lost my father in law my mother in law, I have lost my family. They all were
very beautiful people, there is a vacuum in life, because...I am just alone now."
“If we buy a car, we have the right to buy a vehicle with safety features, so that we feel safe.”
“Even basic models in European countries have safety features. Why not in India?”

9. Unheard voices….
• Car: Maruti 800, no airbags
• Both sustained internal injuries and
hospitalised after collision with bus
"Even today if we cross the place of accident, my
eyes become wet and I think, 'Oh God, it
shouldn’t happen to anyone.' As if I have come
back from hell.“
“Our lives are equally important as the people in
other countries. Thus, the safety features are
needed in all the cars being sold…Are our lives
not precious?”
Ashok Ishwarbhai Patel
Rajpal Ashobhai Patel
Ahmedabad

10. Unheard voices…
• Car: Maruti Ritz, no airbags
• Two cousins killed and three
seriously injured in collision
with tree
“I would like to give this message
to the Government, that the car
safety features should be there
in every car.”
Harwinder Ridhlan
Dwarka More, New Delhi

11. We support minimum UN Regulations
On 15 April 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a
resolution on “Improving global road safety” which represents the UN’s
strongest ever commitment to road safety.
The resolution:
•“Invites Member States that have not already done so to consider
adopting policies and measures to implement United Nations vehicle
safety regulations or equivalent national standards to ensure that all
new motor vehicles meet applicable minimum regulations for occupant
and other road users’ protection, with seat belts, air bags and active
safety systems fitted as standard.”

12. New ARAI standards: a step in the right
direction
• India will apply important UN equivalent standards for new models from 1
October 2017
• Although this was announced in 2008, we applaud the government for taking the
right action
• BUT, please do not delay any further.
Indian lives are on the line

13. BNVSAP: an opportunity too important to
squander
BNVSAP can make a vital contribution to strengthening consumer safety, but
only if:
•Testing protocols meet the necessary level of stringency, including frontal
crash tests at 64 km/h
•Learn from the experience of other NCAPS
•Consumers must continue to be represented

14. BNVASP and regulation are different
• Regulation sets a minimum safety level and should be used to ensure
no cars fall below that level
• BNVSAP should be used to provide and independent assessment of
safety performance, so that:
• Consumers have the information they need to make safer choices
• Manufacturers are encouraged to go above and beyond the
regulatory minimum

15. Global NCAP in partnership with IRTE ( Institute of Road Traffic
Education)
Tested five popular and important models to assess their performance
in both the UN Reg. 94 crash test at 56 km/h and at an NCAP speed of
64 km/h.
SAFER CARS FOR INDIA PROJECT

16. Combined sales of these five cars account for around 20% of all the new cars
sold in India last year

17. REMARKS

18. Manufacturers must do better, now
• Cars not crash tested violate Indian consumers’ right to safety and
must be removed from the market immediately
• The bottom line: Indian citizens and consumers deserve the same
level of safety as anybody else. No ifs, no buts!

19. 1. Electronic stability control (ESC) - aids car's stability during skids/emergency situations.
2. Electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) - automatically varies the brake-force
3. Brake assist (BA) - helps drivers to a stop quickly during emergency braking.
4. Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) - detects object ahead apply brake
5. Lane-keeping technology - detects the car is about to leave its lane on a motorway
6. Visibility aids - like parking sensors/cameras monitor unseen objects/blind-spot
7. Attention monitoring systems - monitor driver's behaviour to detect signs of tiredness
8. Seat belt enhancements - such as pre-tensioners / load limiters to help prevent injury.
9. Airbags - multiple airbag systems common (to help in both front/side impact situations)?
10. Head restraints - to prevent whiplash injuries
11. Child car seat fixing points - to fit a child car seat without a seat belt
12. Pedestrian protection - including the use of impact-absorbing panels, external air bags and pop-up bonnets to help
prevent injury to pedestrians.
Estblished Car Safety Features

20. CAR MODEL AIR BAGS ABS EBD ESP LSD Hill Hold Control Traction
Control
System
Brake
Assist
Tata Indica NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Tata Zest NO* YES* YES* NO NO NO NO NO
Tata Safari NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Volkswagen Polo(India) NO YES* YES* NO NO NO NO NO
Volkswagen Polo
(Australia)
YES YES YES YES YES* YES YES YES
Volkswagen
Jetta(India)
YES YES YES YES NO YES YES YES
Volkswagen Jetta
(Australia)
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
Volkwagen Beetle
(India)
NO YES YES YES NO YES YES YES
Volkswagen Beetle
(Australia)
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

21. Poorest safety regulations in the world.
Safety components that are standard elsewhere are only in highline
models in India
No laws regarding child safety.
We do not have an NCAP that can certify cars before they hit the
roads .
OBSERVATIONS

22. • 250 respondents.
• Objectives :
 Find out the factors behind an individual’s decision of what car to
buy.
 Whether the consumer is aware of the safety norms which his/her
car must satisfy
 How safe the car actually is, for both the passenger as well as the
environment.
CONSUMER PRIMARY SURVEY

23. Consumer Awareness of Indian and Global Safety regulations is the
first step.
Consumers should give safety of the car a top priority, which in turn
creates a demand for safer cars.
Regular emission checks, tyre pressure checks and making sure we
ourselves buy safety and prevention tools like fire extinguisher
spray.
TIPS FOR CONSUMERS

24. New Developments
• The Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP) is a
proposed New Car Assessment Program for India. Cars sold in the
country will be assigned by star ratings based on their safety
performance. It will be implemented in phases, according to the plans
being drawn up by the National Automotive Testing and R&D
Infrastructure Project. It is the 10th NCAP in the world and is being
set up by the government of India
• Cars with crash guards to attract penalty up to Rs 5,000
• Five India-bound cars score high in the latest NCAP test..

25. New Initiative in Vehicle Regulation
Action Notification Date
1 Automatic Head Lamp on – two wheelers 188 (E) dt 22.02.16 1st
April 17
2 Speed Governor 290 (E) dt 15.04.15 Extended dt
31.01.17
3 Bus Body code 895 (E) dt 20.09.16
846 (E) dt 17.03.2017,
2258(E
) dt 19.07.2017
Extended to 30.09.2017 for existing
models
4 Additional provisions fro M1 vehicles 1014(E) dt 26.10.16 draft
5 Mass Emission Standards for LNG 1066(E) dt 15.11.16 Draft
6 Double Decker Bus 240 (E) dt 14.03.17 Six months from the date of
notification.
7 ABS for two wheelers 120(E) 10.02.17 1.04.18

26. New Initiative in Vehicle Regulation
Action Notification Date
8 Requirements for behavior of steering
mechanism of a vehicle in a Head-on Collision
AIS -096/2008, as amended from
time to time ,for the vehicles
specified therein.
New Models – 1st
October, 2017
All Models- 1st
October,2019
9 Protection of occupants in the event of an
offset Frontal collision
AIS -096/2008, as amended from
time to time ,for the vehicles
specified therein
New Models – 1st
October, 2017
All Models- 1st
October,2019
10 Approval of vehicles with regard to the
Protection of Occupants in the event of a
Lateral Collision
AIS -096/2008, as amended from
time to time ,for the vehicles
specified therein
New Models – 1st
October, 2017
All Models- 1st
October,2019
11 Approval of vehicles with regard to the
protection of pedestrian and other vulnerable
road users in the event of a collision with the
motor vehicle
AIS -100/2010, as amended from
time to time ,for the vehicles
specified therein
New Models – 1st
October, 2018
All Models- 1st
October,2020

27. Why this matters…
“Consumers by definition, include us all,”
“They are the largest economic group, affecting
and affected by almost every public and private
economic decision.”
“Yet they are the only important group... whose
views are often not heard.”

28. Conclusion
Every Manufacture claims consumers Safety to be a Priority but
fails to communicate the same to the consumer.
Consumer Education is one of the important tool for consumer
empowerment. Safe car should also be a priority to the consumer
but needs to be supported by manufacturers and regulators.
Consumers representation should be a part of important decision
making processes.