ABS Mandatory in India from 2018

The Union government had earlier announced their plan to make the antilock braking system (ABS) mandatory for two-wheelers from 2017. Recently, however, the government said that ABS would be mandatory from 1 April 2018.

The new legislation is a welcome change and shows that the government is actually concerned about the safety of two-wheeler users in the country. According to a government report issued in 2012, about 36,000 fatalities occur in the country involving two-wheelers. With the introduction of ABS, the government hopes to reduce this number drastically.

Bosch, the global technology giant, will play a big role in providing solutions to two-wheeler manufacturers in India who will have to equip their motorcycles and scooters with ABS from 2018. Bosch already have their latest generation ABS unit in place, called the ABS10, which is 30 per cent lighter than the current generation ABS9 unit. Bosch have developed this unit especially for countries like India, where cost plays a crucial role.

According to the new mandate, two-wheelers above a capacity of 125 cc will have to be equipped with ABS and those below or equal to 125 cc will have to either opt for ABS or CBS (combined braking system), which basically means that most of the scooters and small capacity commuter motorcycles in India will have the option of being equipped with ABS or CBS and every two-wheeler above 125 cc will have to have ABS as standard equipment.