Emergency braking, drowsiness alerts, lane departure warnings to be mandatory in all large cars from April 2026

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has proposed new safety systems for passenger vehicles carrying more than eight people. As per a draft notification, all the new passenger vehicles carrying more than eight people, along with buses and trucks must come equipped with automotive safety technologies such as Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS), Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning Systems (DDAWS), and Lane Departure Warning Systems (LDWS).

The new rule will be effective for all large passenger vehicles, buses and trucks from April 2026. For the existing vehicle models, the new norms will be effective from October 2026 onwards.

Besides the aforementioned safety technologies, buses and trucks in the country will be required to have an onboard blind spot information system to identify and warn drivers of pedestrians and cyclists that may be in their blind spots. Both mini and regular buses, along with trucks manufactured after the specified deadlines, must be equipped with vehicle stability functions as well.

The MoRTH has proposed a comprehensive change to the Motor Vehicle Rules, making the introduction of the abovementioned safety features and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) mandatory, reported TOI. With these norms, the Indian government aims to make the vehicles in the country safer. Interestingly, this proposal from MoRTH comes at a time when in the European Union, all new motor vehicles have been mandated to come equipped with various ADAS technologies to enhance road safety.

Impact of new norms on BNCAP

India has its own vehicle safety rating system under the Bharat New Car Assessment Program (BNCAP). Expect the rating system to be updated, where the vehicles with the aforementioned technologies will score high in the crash test program. However, the government has not mentioned any such move as of now.

How these safety systems work

AEBS detects potential forward collisions and activates the brakes in case the driver does not react promptly. This technology applies the brakes automatically to slow down the vehicle and mitigate the severity of the impact.

The DDAWS monitors the driver's alertness by analyzing various factors such as steering movements, the vehicle's lane position, and the driver's facial tracking. If this system detects that the driver is drowsy, which in many cases has been proven to be a key reason behind fatal accidents, the system issues audio warnings to alert the driver. This technology addresses the risk of delayed reaction times during high-speed runs.

Another key reason behind many mishaps on the highways and expressways is improper lane changing. To tackle this, the LDWS will become mandatory. This technology ensures that drivers receive alerts when a vehicle is unintentionally drifting out of its lane. The system provides visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to the driver to prompt corrective action, thus reducing accidents caused by distraction or fatigue.

Blind spot detection system is another key technology that has become mandatory in the latest move by MoRTH. This system identifies and warns drivers about pedestrians, cyclists or other objects near the vehicle, particularly in blind spots, in order to reduce collisions.

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