Chennai:

How? And why? ARAI (www.araiindia.com) is now carrying out impact tests for all nine-seater vehicles for steering columns, seat anchorage and seat belts. From 1 May 2003 every nine-seater vehicle should comply with our standards. Next will be full frontal crash tests for ascertaining the deformation of the whole cabin on models that are plying and likely to ply on Indian roads, he says.

Pressure too is building up on ARAI to tone up its vehicle-testing procedures and facilities from unexpected quarters. The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) may set up full-fledged vehicle-test facility along with some consumer associations. IRDAs interest stems from the fact that insurers are made to pay huge claims in the event of an accident due to poor vehicle construction.

Thrust on quality
And with the arrival of several highway projects the real test tracks for India-made vehicles and components (like tyres) vehicle quality will have to be compulsorily improved to make them safe for driving. Already the Pune-Mumbai highway is turning out to be a death stretch for several vehicle drivers and passengers as tyres burst failing to withstand vehicle speed.

Says Bhanot: We are planning to build vehicle-test facilities in Delhi and Chennai. According to him the central government is expected to spend around Rs 1,500 crore towards vehicle-test facilities.

We have asked for Rs 500 crore for our expansion and upgrading. Another Rs 500 crore will be required to have a full-fledged crash-test centre, he adds. ARAIs present facility is located on 105 hectares in Pune but the area has been declared as forestland since expansion has been stopped.

Building and maintaining a full-scale vehicle-test centre with indoor test labs using dummies and outdoor facilities will cost more and require huge tracts of land. For instance, in the seventies it cost around $70 lakh to set up the 50-acre asphalt pad at the Transportation Research Centre of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, USA, with an annual maintenance cost of $1 lakh. The maintenance cost of an indoor lab every year is around $6.5 lakh there.

Upgrading services
But these costs could be met out of contributions from vehicle manufacturers whose number in India is increasing. In addition, the centre can earn from offering its services to auto makers in this part of the world since many countries dont have any worthwhile testing centres.

Recently ARAI has been investing in upgrading its facilities like installing noise-vibration test and sled-test labs. But availability of funds is one big hurdle for the 275-employee organisation. ARAIs revenue stream consists of member subscription (from 75 vehicle and component manufacturers as members), and the income from sponsored projects, development testing and certification.

Last year our total income was Rs 28 crore and this year it will be Rs 32 crore, says Bhanot. With the central governments financial assistance towards salaries being almost nil ARAI is self-sufficient, generating a major portion of its revenue from testing and sponsored project activities.

If insurers want to test a particular vehicle model or study in detail the cause of an accident we can do that too. ARAI is also busy testing different vehicles to see whether they meet safety standards that would come into operation in May or July 2003, in addition to seat anchorage and steering column safety measures mentioned earlier.

For instance, from 1 May 2003, commercial vehicle manufacturers should factory-fit rear-view mirrors, and side and rear under-run guards. Other safety standards that would come into play are: windscreen wiping system (for three-wheelers), conversion of diesel vehicles to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-powered one, noise norms, electromagnetic radiation norms, lighting and signalling devices for four-and-above-wheeled vehicles (excluding tractors and special purpose vehicles).

Towards a safe future
Some of the items to be taken up in the near future are safety norms for school buses, windscreen glass, child resistant gears, antilock braking systems, tyres, rear-marking for heavy- and slow-moving vehicles, and double-deck passenger vehicles, adds Bhanot. But disciplining and forcing vehicle manufacturers to follow these standards are no easy task for ARAI.

Speaking at a recent seminar organised by the Centre for Consumer Education, Research, Teaching, Training & Testing (Concert) under the aegis of IRDA in Chennai, he complained: The industry flouts all safety norms and standards. Nor do they care about driving comforts. Unless you force down their throats nothing happens. From 1 May 2003 onwards all heavy commercial vehicles should have power-steering.

The other activity that ARAI is seriously engaged now is in harmonising its standards with that of ECE (Economic Commission for Europe) standards. Out of 114 ECE standards we have partially or fully aligned 43 of ours while 32 are in the process, and 39 are yet to be taken up for harmonisation, he says.

Bhanot says India is far ahead of other Asian nations, including Japan, in embracing ECE norms. By 2005-07 we will have 80 per cent of the standards followed by rest of the world.