All the two-wheelers with an engine displacement of 125 cc and more will come equipped with Anti-lock Braking System or more commonly known as ABS from the year 2017. In today’s fast world of cars and bikes, accidents have become a common thing. To keep the costs of their vehicle low and the profit margins high, companies ignore simple safety features, risking the life of thousands of people. This cost cutting is more common in the lower-end commuter segment vehicles. One of the important but still scarcely seen safety feature that reduce the risk factor significantly is the ABS (Anti-lock Breaking system). It is an automobile safety system that allows the vehicles to maintain grip with the road surface during braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and avoiding skidding.
Most of the high-end motorbikes in the country come equipped with this feature or at least give it as an optional feature. But the safety in the commuter segment, which mostly consists of 125 cc bikes, is largely ignored. To change this, the ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) had proposed to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to make ABS a mandatory part of all two wheelers displacing 125 cc and above, which has been recently approved. Currently, ARAI does not have a test track or crash test centre and shares the test track of Vehicles Research and Development Establishment in Ahmednagar, which is currently being upgraded to meet the industry standards.
Director of Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Rashmi Urdhwareshe announced the news and said that implementation of the new safety regulations will take place in a planned manner in different phases. She said that the ARAI will be coming out with a notification informing all the manufacturers soon about the new regulations. She also added that after the two-wheelers, the focus will shift to the three-wheelers in the country, which currently lack all the basic safety features. The new regulation, making ABS compulsory, is supposed to be followed from the year 2017 giving all the manufacturers enough time to change their vehicles. Though the addition of ABS unit will increase the price of the two-wheelers as the cheaper, mechanical brake will have to be replaced by the more expensive Disc brake, the added safety will justify the price hike.
