[Ays7]

In this case, it is reasonably clear that the delay in FIR was because initially the local Police Station must have refused to take an FIR and hence the person had to approach the Magistrate Court which subsequently ordered the Police Station to file an FIR. Sadly this process can be full of laches and delays and hence the time delay between date of event and the date of FIR can be explained away.

As to the actual merits of the matter, I cannot comment on the same, it seems clear that the car was equipped with Airbags and that they did not deploy. Whether the Airbags should actually have been deployed when the car toppled over or hit the divider and then toppled away is a matter of investigation. However, the fact that car was equipped with airbags would take a bite out of the complainant's claim and now the matter solely rests on testimony from the experts which would side with the manufacturer, is my assumption.

[SinghBHP]

Originally Posted by Kishoreshack

It's difficult for me to understand that people are talking about so much technical stuff that they forget about the fact airbags are supposed to save lives. They need to be deployed when it's needed the most. Irrespective of what you say or what Mahindra says we need to acknowledge the fact that someone lost life a precious life, much more than a company that doesn't pay attention to Quality Control

Completely agree with you. What use is those safety features if not deployed when needed. Even though it was a roll over - that is still a risk to life you never know how exactly a person is rolling over. No simulation can capture the real life scenarios. May be if Front Airbags had opened- it might have saved the life of driver.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by tracerspiff

In case of a rollover, the top of the car is going to get crushed and if the airbag were to deploy in this condition, it would crush the driver's head.

Airbags are a supremely useful technology and have saved countless lives but they are effective in only certain situations.

Thanks for the insider's perspective . Three more reasons:

1. An unnecessary airbag activation can actually cause a bigger accident! An incident like this Octavia's could unnerve & distract the best of drivers into an accident - link (Skoda Octavia airbags deploy after major pothole collision | GoDigit refuses insurance claim).

2. There will be insurance company considerations.

3. In most cases, the insurance company covers only 50% of the airbag replacement cost. And there are the dashboard-associated costs too. If airbags deploy too easily, OEMs will be looking at different kinds of lawsuits & dissatisfaction from customers.

That being said, as a Thar owner, I am quite concerned after reading so many posts on this thread about airbags not activating in Mahindra cars.

[Gaur]

Originally Posted by tracerspiff

From what I could understand, the ABS module needs inputs from various sensors like wheel speed sensor, engine speed sensor, accelerometer, body roll sensor, impact sensor in the bumpers, seatbelt sensor, passenger sensor(weight) under the seat, etc.

There are tens of thousands of lines of code that go into the ECU. In order for the airbags to deploy, a combination of criteria must be satisfied. In many circumstances, airbag deployment will cause more injuries than prevent them.

And that's where people can cut corners during development, reason why Volvos/Merc/BMW/Tesla/AUDI offer top protection is because they test a million scenarios making the algorithm more robust accounting for all possible things that can go wrong.

While some others will stick to bare minimum, enough to just cross the finishing line. The sunroofs and large touchscreens will anyways get the required sales number.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by tracerspiff

A
In case of a rollover, the top of the car is going to get crushed and if the airbag were to deploy in this condition, it would crush the driver's head.

Aren't (well designed) car's superstructure designed not to collapse during rollover? (simple rollover at least. I can understand falling from a height upside down which no pillars can remain intact).
Also, the airbags deploy in the front, so I don't know how they can end up crushing driver's head. For that to happen, the inflated airbags should come in between the head and the roof. In any case if the death is imminent, IMHO deploying the airbags in these situations may help even in cases.

[V.Narayan]

I don't mean any disrespect for the deceased victim or his family. And I can relate to the anguish of the father.

However...whenever airbags do not deploy question foremost on the mind is were the passengers/driver wearing the seat belts. The next question is to what extent were the wirings/internal mechanisms of the airbags tampered with during any modifications implemented on the vehicle.

A vehicle toppling over is indicative of the high speed it was being driven at. It is easy to jump to "persecution complex poor me" conclusions and blame the bigger vehicle - in this case the bigger organization (M&M) - but accidents don't just happen due to one factor. The driver's skills & experience, the driving quality, the road, the speed, the car, whether driving under influence or not, wearing seat belts or not and then of course if other safety mechanisms worked or not. So, jumping to conclusions by us or the victim's father is not a balanced approach no mater our instinct to rrot for the victim or the small guy.

If the allegation of the bags being missing is indeed true then the counter question is were they removed by during any modifications that were done?

Rich kid, big powerful car, racing in U.P. {not exactly known for its law abiding populace}, living in a machismo social environment - what are the chances he was not buckled in. My sense says in all probability he wasn't wearing the seat belt. My conjecture having witnessed many like this on my drives in U.P. including a similar accident in U.P. with a young male relative.

Originally Posted by Guna

Aren't (well designed) car's superstructure designed not to collapse during rollover?

It is a car and not a tank. The roof is a weather protection cover not a fundamental structure. If a car topples over it means it is being driven outside its safe envelope. Period.

[deetee]

Originally Posted by Sebring

The car hit the divider first and then toppled. Mahindra is only looking at the toppling/rolling over aspect. When it hit the divider the airbag should have deployed.

Originally Posted by Sahil00090

How is this possible that airbags are not being deployed in many Mahindra cars. This has become quite often read it seems. I hope Mahindra does a thorough investigation and share reason why it didn't deploy, if indeed the car had them, which I don't doubt but they should give the response.

As a Mahindra car owner myself, it is disconcerting to see various news about airbags not deploying in accidents. However, after thinking about this, I have a different perspective.
Most M&M SUV have high GC with large tyres. In case of contact with dividers / low height obstacles, first point of contact could be the tyres and NOT the bumper with airbag sensors. Also, if the vehicle in question has a crash guard installed in front, then that also prevents timely activation of airbag sensors. Any of these factors could stop the airbags from deploying.

[GeneralJazz]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

It is a car and not a tank. The roof is a weather protection cover not a fundamental structure. If a car topples over it means it is being driven outside its safe envelope. Period.

I'm sorry for nitpicking, but a genuine query nonetheless.

I've read in multiple places that the roof of the vehicle should be able to support at least 1.5 times the unladen weight of the vehicle without crushing.

Link, Link, Link

Wouldn't that mean the roof should be an essential part of the vehicle structure?

[shancz]

The discussion on airbags and their deployment has some valuable info and that should be pondered upon.
Whether to deploy the airbag or not is a very important question the software has to answer hence the complicated parameters beyond the scope of understanding of an average Joe(me included).

Sharing an anecdote to highlight the importance :
Our driving instructor in UAE told the class that an airbag will come towards you typically at 300km/hr so whatever is on your lap will hit you with that energy, so don't keep anything between you and the airbag.
Now every time I see someone with a kid dancing around in the front seat, I keep getting reminded of that, sadly.

The FIR also states in a one-liner that the accident happened due to fog. This is the tragedy of our driving eco-system IMHO.
The fog didn't cause the accident, it was just a condition of reduced visibility which should've triggered the driver to drive slow, cautiously and even stop somewhere safe till it passed.
Till the time we keep considering accidents as an act of God, they'll keep happening.


Not talking about this case specifically as it lacks a lot of critical info.
But from what I gather most people don't consider any difference in driving a low sedan vs a tall SUV. Unfortunately most consider the SUV's as an "upgrade/better".
Am I wrong in sensing a link between an increasing number of roll-over accidents and this indifference in driving manners when driving a high center-of-gravity(CoG) SUV to a low CoG sedan ?

[arjab]

Originally Posted by GeneralJazz

I'm sorry for nitpicking, but a genuine query nonetheless.

I've read in multiple places that the roof of the vehicle should be able to support at least 1.5 times the unladen weight of the vehicle without crushing.

Link, Link, Link

Wouldn't that mean the roof should be an essential part of the vehicle structure?

As far as I am aware, Roof crush and Rear crash,(this includes luggage retention too), is not a compulsory norm under Indian safety standards. I am talking here of pre-Bharat NCAP norms. This is the main reason why vehicles like Maruti van(omni) and Bolero(old) could pass.

Abroad, particularly in USA, the FMVSS regulations mandates, roof crush, rear crash, full frontal, offset frontal, small overlap(US only), side barrier, side pole: as standard tests for all mass produced vehicles.
EU is also largely in-line with US. Same goes for Middle East and GCC countries which essentially follows EU crash norms for mass market vehicles.

It may be noted that outside India, particularly EU, UK and US have different categories under which vehicles can be homologated depending on the OEM's production volumes. For very low volume vehicles there are homologation categories which are quite lenient.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by shancz

The FIR also states in a one-liner that the accident happened due to fog. This is the tragedy of our driving eco-system IMHO.
The fog didn't cause the accident, it was just a condition of reduced visibility which should've triggered the driver to drive slow, cautiously and even stop somewhere safe till it passed.
Till the time we keep considering accidents as an act of God, they'll keep happening.

Spot on. I am always amazed how little foggy conditions spur people to slow down. Even here in Europe. Some of the most horrendous multiple car accidents in Europe were all in foggy conditions. As you say, it’s not the fog that causes accidents, it’s people not adjusting their speed and distance keeping appropriately

In Europe we have regulations/laws that stipulate when you are allowed to use fog lights. I always say, when you are allowed to use your fog lights you should not be on the road!

Sad case, must be awful for the parents, family and friends. But the true facts must be established before apportioning blame

Jeroen

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by GeneralJazz

I've read in multiple places that the roof of the vehicle should be able to support at least 1.5 times the unladen weight of the vehicle without crushing.

Thank you for sharing the links. Very informative and authoritative references. I agree that the roof should be able to support a load of 1.5 times vehicle weight as clearly stated in the regulations.

However do bear in mind that a vehicle toppling over while traveling at speed experiences much more 'G' forces from the momentum it is carrying. The regulations state 1.5 times vehicle weight. That accounts for 0.5 'G' of acceleration above acceleration due to gravity. I would think that a vehicle travelling at highway speeds toppling over potentially after hitting something could typically experience much more over 0.5 G above gravity and hence would exceed the structural strength required for the roof.

One think to look into would be similar specifications for the seat. The head rests are supposed to extend over the top level of the head, I would think. So what are the forces that the seat itself is supposed to withstand before it collapses and impacts the drivers body. That would be interesting to look in to.

[Bhodrolok]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Inside city, even if there is a small bump, it could go off. The replacement cost of 6 airbags is considerable - so there is an option to turn it off

No, the switch off allows usage of child seats in front seats

Airbags dont go off on a small bump.

[AheadAJ]

Just one observation. Quite a few comments on how mods might have impaired airbag's functionality. But won't the "airbag malfunction indicator light" on dashboard flash warning drivers under such situations? Regards.

[Sebring]

Hey you misunderstood. I dont mean road bumps, I meant a frontal bump (with another vehicle at low speed) and it has happened in my circle

Originally Posted by Bhodrolok

Airbags dont go off on a small bump.