[COMMUTER]

I am 100% for safety. I did not intend for the post be slighting safety measures. For the cars to be safe, they need structural integrity and the restraint systems.

The point I intend to bring attention to was that the passenger airbag with a child on board can turn a harmless fender-bender in to a lethal incident.

Yes, having my tender toddler strapped in the child seat is very safe. But what if she pukes or wets herself? There are practical issues involved in taking a toddler for a long drive. I maintained 70-80kmph on those drives and was very defensive. The possibility of bundling all the mother and child on the rear seat of a small hatchback is cruel when going on a long ride, especially for tall people. Had I been able to purchase a car with good rear seat, I wouldn't think about taking this risk. But our taxes, laws, greed and gullibility is keeping those slightly bigger cars out of reach for most of us. We should spare more thought on how can one be dragged in to thinking that adding a few crucial inches to the car's wheelbase and putting in another set of seats similar to the one installed for the driver will cost three times more than the price of an entry level car. The car companies and the regulators are conniving to keep us thinking like this.

I appreciate the quest for safety, but let us not get hypocritical in pursuing it.

The quest for safety is to be followed in these steps.
- Slower speed
- Defensive attitude
- Primary restraint
- Secondary restraint

I had driven an Indica for over a decade. I have no issues with buying a car without airbag or, as many of us had done, lacking structural integrity. Even today, If I am to get a Mahindra Thar for a deal I can't pass up, that will be my primary drive.

Let us be rightly concerned about the unnecessary premium that the companies and the tax department are greedily lapping off the cheap cars when they could have given safer cars for the same price.

I hope that the regulatory bodies are soon impelled to act in the right direction regarding this.

[Carpainter]

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

But what if she pukes or wets herself? There are practical issues involved in taking a toddler for a long drive. I maintained 70-80kmph on those drives and was very defensive. The possibility of bundling all the mother and child on the rear seat of a small hatchback is cruel when going on a long ride, especially for tall people.

But the fact is that taking a mother with her child in her lap in the front seat with or without airbag is far more dangerous than the little discomfort she would feel sitting in the back seat of a hatchback. Specially for long or highway drives as you have mentioned, it's my humble request, don't make them sit in the front seat no matter what. You can always push the front passenger seat all the way front to free up some more legroom for the rear. Just don't take the safety of your loved ones in your hand. Even if you drive slowly and defensively, you can never know what can go wrong in our kind of roads where maintaining traffic rules is an alien concept.

[BenjiRoss]

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

I am 100% for safety. . But what if she pukes or wets herself? There are practical issues involved in taking a toddler for a long drive. . The possibility of bundling all the mother and child on the rear seat of a small hatchback is cruel when going on a long ride, especially for tall people. .

I have a small car, an xcent, and have driven 500 km in one stretch with 2 kids strapped in the back seat with an adult. My little 2 year old daughter has almost always been in a rear car seat. On a couple of short 5 minute drives, my wife has carried her in the front seat for seeming convenience and it's been some scary, unsettling drives!
I gently suggest you move out of this unsafe frame of mind and would encourage you to try long drives with child in car seat. It is a liberating and safe experience well worth the initial apprehension and hiccups. Some of us can help you in clarifying any doubts and clarifications you may have. You can call me anytime to chat up about using a car seat and getting the child comfortable in it.

[NiInJa]

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

The point I intend to bring attention to was that the passenger airbag with a child on board can turn a harmless fender-bender in to a lethal incident.

I will have to disagree with you Sir, I have a toddler too and I haven't put him and his mom in the front seat, ever. In-fact I get so frustrated when I see kids in the front seat sitting on their mom's lap that I wish I could stop them there and educate the dangers of doing such things. If their cars have airbags, its going to explode on the kid's face first, if the car does not have an airbag, the kid will hit the dashboard or windscreen. There is no escape either way. And trust me, I have hit a footpath at 20 kmph in my small hatchback and the momentum was too big, although I just damaged the bumper, all occupants, including me felt a huge jolt, especially me as my hands were on the steering wheel, I was restrained by the seat belt. Imagine hitting a huge iron hammer softly on hard surface, you can still feel it. On a lighter note, kids like fiddling with the buttons and gear levers (at least in my family) so they are better off sitting at the back.

Airbags don't deploy on small fender benders but we can never be sure how it turns out. My car might be travelling at a defensive 30 kmph but if some idiot decides to collide head-on at a high speed, the airbags will still deploy. My point is, there is no sequence that is to be followed for safety, it all needs to be in place at the same time, at all times. To give an example, I was saved by wearing a helmet once, I was waiting at a signal, it had just rained and a branch of a tree fell on my head and shoulder, it was pretty heavy (almost like a 1.5ltr soft drink bottle) and it bruised my shoulder pretty bad. So it didnt matter if I was alert or driving defensively or anything. I was saved just because I adhered to basic safety measures. Dual airbags too should fall in the same category.

The quest for safety in today's world should start after basic structural integrity and dual airbags are offered as standard. Like I said in my previous post, one more airbag hardly costs any money in relative terms. Difference between S-Presso vxi and vxi(0) with dual airbag is just about 8000 INR, and I really don't understand what people would achieve by saving such a small amount for a car that would cost approx 4.5 to 4.8 Lakh rupees on road.

[BoneCollector]

So now it's turn of the Supreme Court to take this into account. As per the following report, Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the report of TOI shared in opening post. When I read that news, only one manufacturer came in my mind. There might be others too but since this particular manufacturer holds nearly 50% of total sales on an average per month, they should provide dual airbags on all variants across all models. I remember how I was persuaded to go for a regular Wagon R in 2012 when I wanted one with airbags and ABS. I was told that it'll take a few months for delivery, booking amount is 50K and what not. So the dealers also tried not to sell the top variants
of a few models earlier. But the same dealer was more than happy when we asked for an Alto VXi in June 2019. He explained that dual airbags are better than single one.

TOI had on October 8 reported how some companies have taken advantage of the government regulation to provide only one airbag in entry-level cars. While the initial draft circulated by the road transport ministry over two years ago had proposed mandating two airbags in front, it was missing in the final draft.

Link

I wont comment on political or judicial issues but there are multiple things that go wrong. One proposes, other disposes and vice versa.

[TN13Sleeper]

Only time and public awareness can bring about change.

I'm not surprised anymore because just 1.5 decade ago, Maruti Alto, 800, Zen didn't have the left side orvm as standard. Can you believe that the base model of these cars had just internal mirror and the driver side mirror?
(15 years later, they offer power operated orvms which are always folded close, as they are expensive to repair if it gets side swiped)

[vibbs]

"Family of four in a car is safer than family of four in a two wheeler."


This thought process if from the government- then it sums up everything that is wrong with us.

A family of four should not travel in a two wheeler. Period!!

Atleast the govt should not say this.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

In-fact I get so frustrated when I see kids in the front seat sitting on their mom's lap that I wish I could stop them there and educate the dangers of doing such things. If their cars have airbags, its going to explode on the kid's face first, if the car does not have an airbag, the kid will hit the dashboard or windscreen.

Forget the passenger's lap, there are drivers who keep toddlers in their lap while driving with the kid happily fiddling with the buttons on the steering or honking. And this happens specifically with the educated morons. Cant understand the thought process of these guys.

[ruzbehxyz]

When the new Ford Endeavour was launched in 2016, it had a Trend model in the 2.2L and 3.2L engine option. These models had only 2 airbags for front passenger and driver. Whereas the Titanium had 6 airbags and one additional driver knee airbag.
I was surprised to learn this fact, that a 30 Lakh plus SUV had only two airbags. But then it's our mentality to blame. In the earlier posts it was mentioned that safety is relative and it's safe for a family car to buy a cheap car than travel on a two wheeler. This point is totally agreeable but a person who goes in for a 30 lakh SUV would not mind paying a lakh extra to get additional basic required safety features. All in all, it's the Indian mindset that needs to be changed first in terms of safety. When the seat belt rule became compulsory, I saw only the driver wearing it mainly to prevent a fine. Now on highways, I am seeing the front passenger also wearing a seat belt in many cars. This has taken years but I think we are slowly moving towards safely, although the speed is slow. I would be happiest when I see at least one car where the rear passengers are also seated in seatbelts and people stop carrying children in the front. Hoping for my country to progress soon.