Advanced emergency braking, drowsiness warning to be mandatory in new vehicles from April 2026 | India News

NEW DELHI: Come April 2026, all new passenger vehicle models designed to carry more than eight people, as well as buses and trucks, will be required to have advanced emergency braking systems (AEBS), driver drowsiness and attention warning systems (DDAWS), and lane departure warning systems (LDWS), according to a draft notification issued by the ministry of road transport. For existing models, these norms will apply to vehicles manufactured from Oct 2026 onwards.
The ministry has proposed comprehensive changes to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, making the introduction of safety features and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) mandatory. These changes aim to prevent accidents by alerting drivers and applying brakes if there is a delay in their response.
In the draft notification issued last week, the ministry has specified that both mini and regular buses, and trucks manufactured after the specified timeline will need to be fitted with vehicle stability function and AEBS. The system will automatically detect a potential forward collision in the same lane and activate the braking system to avoid crashes. The AEBS, after detecting any potential forward collision, will instantly warn the driver. It will activate the vehicle braking system to de-accelerate the vehicle to avoid or mitigate the severity of a collision, if the driver does not respond quickly to the warning.
The mandatory inclusion of LDWS in these vehicles is also crucial, as this safety feature alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of a lane without signaling. The system provides visual, auditory, or haptic feedback to prompt corrective action. These features are designed to help prevent crashes caused by driver distraction, fatigue, or unintentional drifting.
Similarly, the drowsiness alert system in these vehicles will assess the driver’s alertness through vehicle systems analysis and warn the driver if needed through audio alerts. Drowsiness can be detected by monitoring the steering movement pattern, the vehicle’s position in lanes, and by tracking the driver’s eyes and face. Drowsiness is far more deadly when vehicles are moving at high speeds, as drivers rarely have enough time to react and apply brakes.
The host of changes in the MV Rules also includes the mandatory installation of an onboard blind spot information system in buses and trucks. This system will detect and alert the driver to the presence of pedestrians and cyclists in close-proximity and in the blind spot of the vehicle. This provision has been introduced considering that, despite increasing the number of mirrors to provide better visibility of the area in front of the vehicle, crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists still occur frequently.