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Old 8th February 2012, 14:27   #106
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Condolences to the departed soul.

Here is a picture of life saving hammer.

The metal part on the front is sharp and pointed to break the glass. On the bottom part (which is hidden by my fingers) there is a blade to cut the seat belt.

I feel it is a must have tool. I bought it for Rs 600 from J.C road.

Some also suggested a method to break open the windshield by kicking hard at the edges/corners of it. My wife was also told the same in Maruti Driving School. It is easier to push open from the edges than breaking from the center. Since the glasses are curved towards inside, it is very very hard to break it for an outsider.


On the locking of the door part - there is a lock mode where the doors don't open at all (neither from inside or outside) - it is the normal lock mode which we use after getting out of the car. I have mistakenly locked my wife inside a couple of times (in Fabia). It may be possible (although unlikely) for the ECU to enter this mode even when it is designed to unlock all doors in emergency situation.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.
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Last edited by noopster : 8th February 2012 at 16:21.
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Old 8th February 2012, 14:29   #107
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Extremely sad news indeed. My deepest condolences to the family and friends.

Its so unfortunate and strange that the driver succumbed to the injuries even after walking out of the burning Vento. Usually, a high-percentage-burnt person would not be able to walk on his won.

I feel that every car owner must have some protection kit from fire and similar such events, not only the VW car owners. I am not aware of the exact technology behind the 'Fire retardant system' in the Fiesta, but something of that sort should be made standard/mandatory in all cars by the ARAI.

Quote:
Originally Posted by antz.bin View Post
After pulling the driver out, fire on him was put out by these people using gunny sacks/ jackets / water from jugs from the restaurant. Clothes were completely burnt but the person could still walk on his own. He was put in a police van which reached immediately and was taken to hospital barely 1 km away.
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Old 8th February 2012, 14:31   #108
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by vb-san View Post
Sorry mxx. I have to say that your post is so uncalled for. The reaction is about a loss of human life because of a car catching fire, and not specific to Vento. Just that the discussion is happening here because the accident happened in a Vento. Spare a thought about the person who lost his life.

And please give some respect the fellow bhpians who are jotting down their comments. You maybe better aware of the rescue measures when a car catch fire, but no way the comments from the fellow members can be called as stupid and illogical. Thanks!
See, even I have sympathies for the deceased family, but this is not an obituary thread. This thread is about an incident in which a vento caught fire. We need facts here
You said my post is uncalled for, but you did not reply to any of the question I put forward in my previous post. I wonder why.
One of my question was like, Several 100,000s of polo/polo sedan/vento are sold world over, and one unfortunate incident occurs, how can everyone here decide that it is manufacturers fault?
I am surprised that there is a dedicated thread for this where as there is silence about other incidents like this: 55-yr-old charred to death after car catches fire near IGI airport . Is the life of person in wagon r less important?

How can everyone take one stray incident -be it vento or the wagon r posted in link above- and fix the culpability to the manufacturer?

About the illogical statements, please refer to the seat belt per-tensioner statements posted. (Since lot of posts were moved from vento thread, I do not know in which thread they are.)
or
Everyone claiming that the door could not be opened from inside-when it is a known fact that vento cannot be locked from inside even if you want to(except using child locks). Few posts back a tbhp member who is a friend of the gentleman who rescued the now deceased person, clearly mentions that the door was opened and was not jammed.
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Old 8th February 2012, 14:42   #109
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Quote:
Originally Posted by antz.bin View Post

Secondly, the door did not jam. only the seatbelt was jammed. In fact, when the 30-40 people from the restaurant reached the car burning across the road, the driver side window was already down and the driver himself opened the door. No glasses were broken.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hvkumar View Post
The issue is not just about car fires (can happen to any car), but the obvious failure of electronics and non-release of seat belts & locked doors, which is what is the main culprit for the hapless motorist to suffer and meet with his untimely demise.
@hvkumar: Just a small note. The OP has clarified that the doors were not locked.
Infact the window was also rolled down by the victim.

Assuming front power windows are standard on all Ventos, it would be safe to say the electricals were functional to a certain extent.

I agree, safety features should get more priority for both car makers and car users.

Condolences to the family of the deceased.

Is there a thread which talks about fire resistant material used in various cars?
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:00   #110
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

My deepest condolences to the family and friends.

Guys, In Vento thread we were discussing about diesel filter replacement due to leakage.

Again this was not informed by VW, through team-BHP posts I have checked it and replaced in Vento TDI.

Do you guys think diesel filter leakage could caused this massive fire?
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:04   #111
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Quote:
Originally Posted by poloman View Post
90% of Polo and Vento owners on the forum including myself have complained of the power window issue in Polo/Vento. No clear explanation/solution is provided by VW till date to my knowledge. BHPian Abhinav.Daos is experiencing serious electrical issues in his Vento. Please search in the forum for more examples. i am sure there are plenty.
We are all fans of Polo/Vento and VW brand. But the way the company conduct itself here desires a lot to be improved.
90% ?? Where did you get the stat ? Being quite an active member on this forum , this is news to me .

Quote:
Originally Posted by hvkumar View Post
Most readers are anyway familiar with the way the VW-Skoda group is run, judging from the problems reported and their responses. I am sure the German team that flew down will deal efficiently with the situation and we will never know the truth behind the fire, and it will be blamed on electrical overload through ICE and such like, without answering crucial questions like jamming of the seat belt or non-opening of locked doors which actually led to these fatal consequences and not the fire itself. When a Nano caught fire, there was so much national furore and sales of Nanos fell for over a year on safety concerns. I think VW also deserves the same market response, and I would tell all my friends not to buy cars from irresponsible car companies like VW who not only make cars with inept electronic systems but also hush up bad news using their "German" lineage and superior money power.

And I would also request all our friends here who own Polos, Ventos & Passats - and any other car too - to re-examine their cars for electrical overload, availability of fire extinguishers in their cars and their drill in response to such emergencies - like how you would open the bonnet latch, for instance, or get out of their seat belts and cars very fast.
Thats a lot of assumptions without any basis smacking of impracticality . Its obvious that you have never owned a VW . If you are not aware of the car or the functionalities the least that you can do is read before expressing your hysterical views. BTW how many Nanos caught fire and how many Ventos ? Is this proven that there was a defect in the car which led to the fire ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by fi.robin View Post
On the locking of the door part - there is a lock mode where the doors don't open at all (neither from inside or outside) - it is the normal lock mode which we use after getting out of the car. I have mistakenly locked my wife inside a couple of times (in Fabia). It may be possible (although unlikely) for the ECU to enter this mode even when it is designed to unlock all doors in emergency situation.
Then Fabia lock is different from a Vento ! I have tried to lock my wife so many times, especially when she wants to go for shopping in a mall, but she always manages to get out of my Vento with a flick of the door lever ! I see proof of that in the credit card statement
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:15   #112
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Ok so doors can definitely be unlocked by tugging at the door handle. But what is this about seat belt not coming out?

Pardon me, but if somebody could help me here, are new cars like Vento,i20,Civic and the whole lot which display the seat belt blinker on the instrument console if the seat belt isn't worn, are the holders also designed in such a way that in case of a frontal collision the holders get locked due to a safety purpose?

Or is it the "PRESS" button for the seat belt release in this vento got jammed? Me thinks this is the case, because in many cars i've noticed that the press button does tend to get a bit fidgety over constant use.

RIP to the driver and my condolences to his family.

Last edited by Ford5 : 8th February 2012 at 15:17.
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:16   #113
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Quote:
Originally Posted by souravc View Post
Thats a lot of assumptions without any basis smacking of impracticality . Its obvious that you have never owned a VW . If you are not aware of the car or the functionalities the least that you can do is read before expressing your hysterical views. BTW how many Nanos caught fire and how many Ventos ? Is this proven that there was a defect in the car which led to the fire ?

1. I am quoting from this thread and news reports that the seat belt was inexplicably jammed, something that should not happen except in an accident when impact would have damaged it.

2. It has been discussed in this thread that the seat belt could not be released, there are no assumptions from my side on that.

3. Without owning a VW, all I simply understand is that when you press, seat belts are supposed to open, that is a basic principle in any car, that cannot be explained away as electric "overloads" or abuse of the car by the motorist.

4. Problems with the Skoda (part of the VW group) have been thrashed in this group so many times, and the manner in which VW has reacted at the outset - going to the extent of even removing comments about the accident in FB groups (as someone said here, not my assumption either) - is indicative of the combative mood they are in to suppress public debate and adverse publicity.

5. I have already heard some loose talk that ICE electrical "overload" caused the fire, which is understandable, but why should the driver not be able to get out of the car himself or why was it difficult to remove someone who was uninjured and in his senses when the fire happened?

6. Reality - I would not advise any one to buy a car where there has been such a gruesome tragedy where the preliminary prima facie evidence and talk indicates that some basic safety mechanisms have malfunctioned. I respect human life, not revere the brand more
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:21   #114
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Quote:
Originally Posted by fi.robin View Post
On the locking of the door part - there is a lock mode where the doors don't open at all (neither from inside or outside)
Sir, please read your fabia manual urgently and look up for "Child lock"
In short, when child lock is engaged only that door can be opened from outside.

There is noway that any door won't open at all UNLESS the lock itself is jammed/broken from inside, which is most probably the case in your Fabia
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:21   #115
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by mxx View Post
One of my question was like, Several 100,000s of polo/polo sedan/vento are sold world over, and one unfortunate incident occurs, how can everyone here decide that it is manufacturers fault?
I am surprised that there is a dedicated thread for this where as there is silence about other incidents like this: 55-yr-old charred to death after car catches fire near IGI airport . Is the life of person in wagon r less important?

How can everyone take one stray incident -be it vento or the wagon r posted in link above- and fix the culpability to the manufacturer?
I agree with you that any make/brand of car could catch fire (and hence did not respond to that bit in your earlier post).

I don’t think anyone here is trying to single out the manufacturer and put all the blame them. But the manufacturer do have the responsibility (along with the authorities) to figure out how this happened.

For me, no fatal accident is a stray incident, and why a separate thread on this matter – this may give you an answer. Thanks!

Last edited by vb-saan : 8th February 2012 at 15:24.
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:28   #116
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

A life has been lost, its as simple as that.
It doesn't matter whether its a VW or TATA or a MARUTI.

Cars are not supposed to catch fire like this.

If there weren't any off market alterations in the car, then the family of the deceased has the full right and should sue the hell out of VW.

The case will take years and cause a lot of pain but this has to be done by the family.

Cheers
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:36   #117
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

My condolences to the departed soul and his bereaved family. In his last moments, I am sure he has seen that people tried to help him in his situation and not technology.
At the end of the day, its the people that matter and help out of pure reaction. Which is why we call ourselves human.

Debate over technology and its failings should definitely continue. Unfortunately our legal system has let down a lot of people a lot of times. So it is a bit difficult to ignore the possibility that this will be brushed down a huge carpet just for monetary issues. Corporate responsibility anyone?

@nawalsingal- my condolences are with you. If you need anything please feel free to PM/ call (see your PM for my number)
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:41   #118
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Lets not get personal. I hope the hue and cry and conspiracy theories here will force VW to find on the cause earlier
I will not engage the child locks hereafter. Its better to tell the kids (who need to be buckled up anyway) about not opening the 'non-locking' VW locks without getting the directions to do so.
Japanese cars are modded to hilt and I have not heard about such fire accidents because of the mods (atleast I have not)

In the wagon-R case, Forensic experts are looking into it. Why no such thing with Vento? Or we dont know the details?

Last edited by srishiva : 8th February 2012 at 15:47.
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Old 8th February 2012, 15:42   #119
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re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Quote:
Originally Posted by souravc View Post

Is this proven that there was a defect in the car which led to the fire ?
Hello,

It is also not proven that there was "NO" defect in the car which led to the fire. I think the point that everybody here is trying to make is that VW has not come up with any explanation or statement about the event. None that we know of. The sentiment on the forum probably is that unless we create a noise, VW won't respond.

"Innocent until proven guilty" does not seem to hold true here and that is probably because
1. VW deleted some posts about this incident from their facebook page
2. There has been no update / explanation from them
3. A very basic and seemingly uncomplicated safety device, seat belt, has inexplicably failed
4. There are more than one incidents of owners reporting major / serious problems with their VW's.

Will we know the final outcome of this incident? Probably not. VW with all their financial might will cover this issue. For them ultimately, the shareholder returns and reputation capital matters : not the life of an individual who had put in his hard earned money in the car.

May the departed soul rest in peace.

Thank you
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Old 8th February 2012, 16:20   #120
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by mxx View Post
how can everyone here decide that it is manufacturers fault?
I am surprised that there is a dedicated thread for this where as there is silence about other incidents like this: 55-yr-old charred to death after car catches fire near IGI airport . Is the life of person in wagon r less important?

How can everyone take one stray incident -be it vento or the wagon r posted in link above- and fix the culpability to the manufacturer?
Well I dont think VW also acted in an above board manner either. The very fact that they took away the car which is the most important piece of evidence in this incident casts them in a very bad light. Sure other manufacturers tend to do the same but why? This is evidence and it could be well that something is wrong with the car. Surely when an FIR is lodged and there is a case in court, the court will call for evidence in this case it is in possession of one of the affected parties . Dont you think there is something grossly wrong with this? The manner in which VW took possession of the vehicle is enough to cause a lot of doubts in everybody's mind.

A responsible car manufacturer should have cooperated with law enforcement to get the bottom of this instead of taking over evidence. Surely they are not playing accuser, judge and executioner here. And it is not that only VW does this. Even Toyota in the US acted in the same manner when their Prius's had problems with their carpets getting stuck with the accelerator pedal as a result of unwanted overspeeding. This caused quite a few deaths in California. There were multiple news reports on this.

Last edited by samarjitdhar : 8th February 2012 at 16:22.
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