Governing flaws pave way for ‘unsafe’ imported cars

KARACHI: Absence of governing authority and safety checking mechanism is providing easy grounds to influx of accidental imported vehicles into Pakistan, posing threat to the public life, auto experts said on Saturday.

The experts said accidental vehicles from abroad are posing serious threat to the public as the country lacks mechanism and the authority to check auto safety features.

The expert said only periodic check of commercial vehicles’ performance is governed under Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965, which is very outdated and unreliable and does not ensure safe vehicles plying on roads.

“Advance safety features are not listed in this ordinance despite that regulatory requirement for safety features in Pakistan is the same as required globally,” an auto expert, who did not want his name to be quoted, said.

Globally, active and passive safety features are followed. Active safety feature includes seat belts and child seats, which primarily protect the safety of vehicle occupants, while passive safety feature includes supplementary restraint system (SRS) airbags, which work together with seat belts to help protect the safety of vehicle occupants.

The expert said used cars being imported in Pakistan do not usually comply with the safety standards and most of the time they come without airbags since they are accidental.

“The airbags from the imported vehicles are removed and sold in the local market,” the expert said. “This is a regular practice here since there is no authority to have a check on the safety standards of vehicles.”

Customers have to bear the cost of installing complete airbag system in the used imported cars. “It can cost around Rs300,000 to replace complete airbag system in vehicles with genuine new parts,” the expert said. “SRS airbag and its related components once deployed cannot be repaired and they can only be replaced with new genuine parts.”

The expert said comparatively India is a very advanced automotive industry. The neighbouring country governs its rules and regulations related to driver’s licence, registration of motor vehicles, control of traffic, construction and maintenance of motor vehicles through Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.

“To date, India has built 58 regulations. But we don’t see any such safety feature checking mechanism here in Pakistan,” the expert said. “This calls for the need of regular checkup and certification program on vehicle safety and performance.”

Similar programs are implemented in Japan and Asia Pacific countries. “In Pakistan, government should implement mandatory checkup of all safety specs of vehicle on a yearly basis to ensure these specs are as per OE (original equipment) standard and operational.”

Original equipment manufacturers operating in Pakistan comply with the safety standards. Toyota and Honda vehicles comply with all the safety features. Suzuki has some variants without airbags, which can be ensured through policy. New entrants coming in the auto market will have all basic safety features installed.