Banned! Your taxi will not have this big 'safety' feature soon

It was touted as the best thing to happen to cars and other vehicles! It was considered as the ultimate in safety features for passengers, especially children. But this unique system turned  into a terror for women passengers and the government has cracked down hard on it. In order to provide better security on roads, especially for women, Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued a new directive related to child locks. The ministry notification has directed that all M1 category transport vehicles, which are used for carriage of passengers, comprising not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat, should disable 'Child Lock' feature with effect from July 1, 2019.
 
The notification reportedly stated that the child locks can be misused by criminals in case of taxis, especially when used by women passengers. Nearly a year ago, vehicle and equipment manufacturers were asked to look into misuse of the feature and ensure women safety in the vehicles.
 
The issue had cropped up in mainstream media after an incident in 2017 in Bengaluru. In the incident, a cab driver reportedly harassed a woman passenger after she was locked inside the taxi using the child lock system.
 
The MoRTH directive today will now put the onus on both OEMs and vehicle dealers to ensure that M1 category transport vehicles do not have child lock feature.