[lina]

If you are perturbed, please up the standards. The car makers are just being smart and doing what is legally required.

[Ritkon]

There is a big difference between "asking" the automakers and ordering them. We live in a country where the largest private automaker (read MSIL) proudly sells lakhs of unsafe cars and don't really care about their cars failing miserably in international safety tests. It doesn't get any better with other manufacturers (like Hyundai and Renault for example), who shamelessly practice the double standard of selling cars with much downgraded safety standards. It is not just about adding a few airbags either, as far as I can recall, most failed tests were due to a much weaker platform itself.
Is it really that difficult for a country like India to set up a world-class safety testing facility? The answer is no, but then the automobile lobby would interfere citing the age old reason of cost.
In my opinion, let the costs go up, let there be fewer cars on the road, let our Government be unpopular but brave and right, just as they were during the transition to BS6.
Time has come that we take this issue very seriously.

[PrideRed]

Govt.: Issue a statement and job one. You have the power, know who is doing wrong, know how to set things right but don't want to do the right thing. Instead issue a statement and wash off your hands. If you are so deeply disturbed, amend the laws, punish the guilty.

[pugram]

Isn't it the Govt's duty to protect its citizens by providing manufacturers with minimum standards to be adopted. Without these guidelines automakers will always give what the general public demands and works profitable for business. Govt is losing money in Insurance and it is in its own interest to provide them. But I believe the lobby will put forth a 'Cost increase, sales decline, reduced employment' pitch and convince the govt.

It will be interesting to see the top 10 cars in our monthly sales report if these safety features are mandated

[Living2Drive]

the day Road tax is decided upon safety star rating (higher the star, lower the tax), thats when manufacturers will change.

[peus017]

This is true when technology changes faster than government can adapt and keep up with time. Our infrastructure is atleast a decade behind.
e.g. Data privacy laws


Instead of proactive we have a reactive approach towards safety and value of life.

[deepak_bajaj]

I have a different thought line maybe due to my experience around me and service industry. We, as a nation, need to change our attitude towards many things, such as safety and cost. In India, cost is the sole most criteria for majority of people (exceptions are always there). Maruti could not bring out a single car with a decent body structure which feels solid (except for S Cross). The only answer I could think of is because we, the people, do not bother about safety. Price should be less. The government has made laws against over speeding but everyday and every minute you can find people driving on wrong side and traffic police is standing next by completely ignorant or busy in challaning car driving down a flyover at speed of 60 instead of 50. Similarly, we buy the cheapest helmets possible to satisfy law and women wing fought for no helmets for women also. Despite seat belts being present and mandatory, I find most people will try to avoid it. There is always a fight to sit at back seat because you don’t need to wear seat belt. Fathers carrying child on their lap for driving. There are numerous examples.

This all shows that we have zero respect for our own safety. I feel that we should stop blaming government and expecting them to do everything. We as a nation need to change our attitude. Some are lured by the cost some by speed and we end up buying a car either with poor safety or poor sales and service support.

[DicKy]

Good thing that someone in the government is voicing concerns about unsafe cars.

A quick repartee would be that government could raise the standards or to decrease the tax so that companies aren't forced to cut corners.

But then, we have to give it to them for atleast starting some minimum safety requirements. They have to strike some balance and look at the overall picture unlike us who just want (or afford) safe cars.

.vehicle location tracking (VLT) will be an integral part of such a scheme.
Stating that VLT system with CCTV camera is already being used by insurance companies,"...
Apart from this, the centre is contemplating a tolling system based on GPS, which will also require installation of devices in all the vehicles and automobiles in the country, Aramane said.
If a system has to be brought, existing vehicles on roads will also get the benefit of such a system. The new system based on GPS will reduce the toll charges of the commuters...
"VLT system is an important issue right now that the government of India is considering for incorporation in all the vehicles," Aramane added.

Great

So I guess all the nations that have less automobile accident fatalities have done so thanks to implementing vehicle tracking devices and GPS based toll collection.

Sorry, it will work for public service vehicles.
But vehicle location tracking for private vehicles. Field day for insurance companies.
Oh. Did some hard accelerations and braking?
Higher slab.
Took it out when there is a heavy rainfall forecast?
Higher slab.

And the wretched impractical GPS based toll collection will end up in a system where the toll meter starts counting when you start your vehicle.
Aarggh...

There are some shtoopppid senior babus in MORTH who comes up with these scrappage and GPS tolls collection ideas.

[warrioraks]

Seems we are reading too much from his statement. In real life, these comments at a public forum have zero value.
Governments do not ask people/companies to do things. They regulate through policies and laws. Till the time any meaningful changes happen through the legislature, we might as well assume the comment was never made in the first place.

[H0RSEPOWER]

In a country with majority of people having such a bizarre mindset, that for ignoring their own safety related measures government has to penalise them, it is very tough to implement such safety related steps. Someone doesn’t need to get fined for a scenario like say, not locking their door at the night to avoid burglary, but those same set of people are required to get fined for not using helmet or seatbelt! Is money more important than their own lives? Come on, most of them are adults who are assumed to be having good sense of their own well being. I think government should publicly display pictures or videos concerning survivors of accidents who are alive due to the use of helmets/seatbelts. Public awareness must be the first step towards it. Then additionally these steps also should be taken.

[jitz_c]

It's really heart warming to see such a response from the side of the government. Better late than never. Now India as a whole is taking steps in the right direction, with stricter penalties for traffic offences and the newly introduced crash/safety norms. That was a long time coming, but very welcome nonetheless.

Thanks to the independent testing by Global NCAP, the poor safety standards of cars in India didn't go unnoticed, and even to the government level. Now customers are really asking, at least some of them, about the safety standards of the cars and their star rating. There is increasing awareness of safety among us and that is very reassuring.

Although safety is mostly down to the end users and how safely we drive our cars, being in better built cars with safety features is better than those without. Earlier there was this false allegation that BMW cars were unsafe in India, due the fatalities caused in them. The cause for that was actually maniac-like driving at insane speeds, which in fact no crash test can guarantee.

A point to note is that crash tests are usually done at normal speeds (64 km/hr for Global NCAP), and not at 200+ km/hr as we would imagine. This clearly nullifies our belief that safety standards are only useful in the highway at high speeds and not relevant for city speeds. And yes, it is certainly not alright to keep our kids hanging out of the sunroofs and driving around, even at so called city speeds.

Glad that the honorable secretary compared our unfortunately high accident records to the US, despite our "slow roads and slow speeds". That is an eye-opener for many of us who still believe that airbags and seatbelts are not important for us, as our average speeds in cities are very low.

A lot can be done at the Government level, as we humans in general tend to follow the stick more than "good advice". The higher safety standards in Western countries is more down to strict regulation and enforcement, rather than good will of people. People over there wouldn't want hefty fines nor disqualification of their license, which is a pain to procure in the first place.

Really hoping that stricter laws and enforcement are brought in India in the coming years. We may not like the "lack of freedom" and the "inconvenience", but it's for everyone's benefit and will definitely save a lot of lives in the bargain.

[sagaranjos]

If safety is such a problem, why don't we just limit the speed of all the vehicles to 80kmph or some such?
For two-wheelers, the legal speed limit is 50kmph. Why have motorcycles go above 100 at all?
Some humans, instead of avoiding dangerous actvities, are looking to protect themselves while doing those dangerous activities! And thereby increasing the cost of living for other not so adventurous humans!

[sagaranjos]

Originally Posted by DicKy

A quick repartee would be that government could raise the standards or to decrease the tax so that companies aren't forced to cut corners.

Exactly my thoughts! If you are really concerned about safety, give tax breaks for safer cars.
For example, for EVs, there is a tax break since you are concerned about the environemnt and want EVs to take off. Why not a similar policy for safety standards.

If safety is going to be more expensive, the human brain is always going to say why pay for something that will come into picture only in a highly improbable event of a major crash (though it might not be that improbable)?

Make safety cheaper, and people will prefer safety!

[amey027]

Originally Posted by DicKy

A quick repartee would be that government could raise the standards or to decrease the tax so that companies aren't forced to cut corners.

To me this is a classis chicken & egg situation. Yes, the taxes have increased in the recent years, but this wasn't always the case. Cars used to cheaper earlier but that didn't stop the consumers from buying sub-standard cars, because the benefits of paying a slight premium weren't clearly visible.

OEMs generally cut corners on the structure of the car, using cheaper materials which end up compromising on the structural integrity. Yes Airbags and other features help, but your car itself is the first line of defense. Safer cars are also expensive and there is a reason why OEMs cut corners, it's the mentality of Indian buyers.

Although the Government should make Airbags, ABS and EBD mandatory across variants, along with mandatory publishing of GNCAP safety ratings, consumers also need to change their mindset of buying the cheapest things out there. Does anyone here seriously believe Maruti would be able to sell their Alto/WagonR/Spresso for the prices they do if they had to implement all the above mentioned features and achieving a 4 star GNCAP rating?

As for taxes, I believe it should be charged based on the price of the base variant. Taxing a bigger amount for a bigger engine in the same car is stupid. The bigger engine is already meeting emission norms, why tax it higher? And road tax should be same across the country and be only charged mandatory for 5 years instead of the stupid lifetime/15years tax. Anything beyond 5 years, you are supposed to pay annually like Insurance. That would surely help reduce the cost of the vehicle.

[CarJunki]

Even though all the vehicles meet safety standards specified by Indian rules, what is there to be aghast of or disturbed by?

Rule makers are cribbing about manufacturers following the rules to the T. Strange case.