The country is developing new qualitative goals for the auto industry, an official in the ministry of industry, mine, and trade told Mehr News.
The new goals include joint activities with leading global automakers to design new car platforms as well as to improve Active Safety by strengthening the chassis and bodies of the cars currently produced, said Amirhossein Qanati, the manager of the bureau of automotive industries at the ministry, encouraging automakers to improve the car safety through establishing modern testing facilities.
The official added that the first phase of a new road test center has been initiated in cooperation with the country’s major car manufacturers.
During the past ten years, the low quality of vehicles, low industrial standards, alongside the desire of domestic car manufacturers to produce affordable cars, have led to a neglect of safety features in many cars. However, the government is now nudging automakers into increasing safety levels in their products. Car manufacturers are required to provide cars with anti-lock braking system (ABS), airbags, and seat belts with adjustable lengths. Roll-over tests and crash tests are now compulsory for all domestic automakers.
The relative decrease in the number of traffic deaths since 2005 is a consequence of a greater effort by the country’s traffic police to implement safety laws, including a compulsory use of helmets for motorcyclists –though many still ignore the law.
Based on official statistics, world’s fifth in the number of car accident deaths. As road accidents are the second-most common cause of death in Iran after cardiovascular diseases, the country has adopted policies to reduce fatalities through different solutions. The high death tolls in car accidents are blamed on high speed, unsafe vehicles, widespread disregard for traffic laws and inadequate emergency services.
