Assam the largest automobile market in northeast India has splurged to a sudden stop as sales of small cars that do not meet safety crash tests have been banned by the Gauhati High Court. What led the court to make such a decision was a response to a petition that sought out to make vehicles safer.
The state of Assam has a hilly terrain as it is located south of the eastern Himalayas. The petition called for cars to be able to pass crash tests such as those conducted by Global New Car Assessment Program (GNCAP) due to the natural higher risks involved in driving around in a mountainous region. 140 total cars in total, are as a result banned from being sold in Assam that include the likes of the Maruti Suzuki 800 (Suzuki Mehran), Suzuki Swift, Suzuki Alto, Hyundai i10, Honda Jazz, Toyotas, among many others.
“The Centre is directed not to permit the auto manufacturers to release and sell the small four-wheelers with a mass up to 1,500 kg and quadricycles without putting them to crash test and emission test,” the court said.
India has begun the movement towards making cars much safer and lets not forget that a number of cars that have been banned in Assam for being to unsafe are also being sold in Pakistan. So a movement towards making safer cars in Pakistan might not be that far off then.
Source: Economic Times
Meanwhile in Pakistan…. the government is totally unfamiliar with the term “Safety Test” or road worthiness test