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-   -   Car Safety by manufacturers or the Govt? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/4597-car-safety-manufacturers-govt.html)

This is wrt to above remark in "Best Car" thread. I think it deserves a separate thread..

We always say indian manufacturers are not giving same safty features as in western countries. Please remember that in ALL countriies the "safty features" are forced on the manfacturer by Govt regulations and in those countries too, manufacturers had opposed/lobbied against these regulations.

Current latest going on in US (if I remember right,) is about side air bags...where Manc. are not conviniced and Govt is slowly trying to push it

Its true even in India...most manufacturers will not install airbags or abs and other safety systems ... most only offer as an option. Installing all these safety devices costs money...which hurts their margins...and they are unwilling to lessen their profits.

Take the case with seatbelts...some years back no maruti cars or other lower end cars had seatbelts, only when the government made them mandatory, did the manufacturers listen.

So anywhere and everywhere in the world, manufacturers will always be have to forced into making investments towards safety by the governments...and its more so true in India than in any other country.

However, some manufacturers are exceptions to this...Volvo and Mercedes are the first that come to mind. They have always kept safety as their number one priority.

So, i think its about time...we had atleast 2 airbags as a standard feature in every car sold. Is the government listening?

Drifter

I think first and foremost the drive has to come from the end-consumer. Nothing will change otherwise.

It's not just about the active safety features a car provides - the crash rating also has to be considered - while most of the modern cars would have been tested and have passed the requirements some , such as the mahindras don't have a crumple zone to speak of - even some modern cars such as the Baleno have a terrible safety rating (In the Euro NCAAP crash tests it got 1 out of 5).

In the Indian scenario I suppose that due to concerns of cost the car companies cannot provide airbags in every model but giving some sort of incentive for cars which have better safety in the form of lower insurance premium or taxes should help.

The Indian government is least concerned about safety - when driving without headlamps or taillamps is considered okay - I doubt fitting expensive active safety control systems will be a priority - anyway - it's more important that all of us (myself included) adhere to safety rules a bit more strictly.

I think everyone is to be blamed. I mean, how many people think about safety over price tag? There are people who won't mind buying a 5 lakh (1.5 star car) over a 7-8 lakh (3 star car).

People look at the size and weight of the car and take safety for granted. How many here knew that a Maruti Alto has achieved the same safety ratings as that of a Sonata?

And before you talk about airbags, we need to get one thing straight. Deploying of an airbag without the passengers wearing their seat belts ""WONT"" help them in any way. Kids have choked to death in the US due to this.

Airbags are always secondary to seat belts. I've personally seen people bypass the seat belt saying "my car has airbags, i don't need to wear seatbelts". Such is the mentality of our people.

Shan2nu

manufacturers i think rule the roost here

government aaahh give me break

i doubt some cars even go through a safety rating procedure
(just to second zaphod on that)

the government cant suddenly impose these rules. think of how much a car with all these safety features would cost. even the seatbelt rule. the govt had to first impose the rule on the manufacturer and wait for most cars to have seat belts and then introduce it to the public. also there are so many cars that dont have seatbelts. also our roads are getting better only now unlike the US which had roads on which high speed accidents can take place.the safety improvments should take place with the cooperation of the govt the car companies and the customer..

Absolutely! Once the consumer is ready to pay for safety, and won't accept a car without the requisite safety features, the manufacturers will offer them as a matter of course.

Even the government will never legislate safety features without significant public support.

[Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder whether that last statement is absolutely correct. The government mandated that all cars manufactured from April 2004 (I think) should have rear seatbelts. But even now most drivers don't wear seatbelts, forget rear passengers. This is a case of government mandating safety without big demand for the public. Imagine that, the Indian government just doing their job without one eye on the vote-bank. The times, they are a-changing!]

The latter part of your post is a sad fact. I am stumped as to why people do not want to buckle up in their cars or wear helmets when they are taking out their two wheelers. You should hear all the stupid excuses that are given.

I am not aware of things totally, but does the Government not have a road safety committee?

Whether the govt cares or not, the top manufacturers surely are!! I was once in the Ford service station parking lot wearing my seat belt, and up walks an employee, saying they reward people who wear seatbelts and I got a gift voucher!!
Although Ford dosent give ABS or airbags on its lower models, its nice to see they at least care this much.

Was just reading OD (old book) and the accent has got a 1.5 star in NCAP.
The ikon in comparision has got 3.
Even toyota who compromised on build quality to offer the corolla at a price much higher then its direct competition (optra) didnt offer ABS till recently and the ABS was accompanied with a hike in price.
But then, most of the accidents taking place is because of the governments slow witted thinking.
Corrupt cops, bad roads, lack of signs, jaywalkers also lead to accidents.
Today, near prabhadevi, at the turn near Shaman, there was a person standing looking back with his cycle next to him.It would have been okay but he was bang in middle of the road.
We almost missed hitting him and even if we did, it would be our fault.
The government should first solve issues relating to roads and rules of using the roads properly and trying to solve congestion problems before making safety devices compulsary and even when they do, they should make sure its the important stuff like ABS and not some headlamp leveler.
How many of us would bother adjusting the headlamps while driving (this question is not for enthusiasts like us)?

Some new MNC companies are encouraging their employs to follow safety rules.

Sometime back I went to a GE office in Hyd to meet fellow bhpian Chaxy. I saw a note on the gate "Two wheeler drivers not wearing helmet will not be allowed to park inside the permises." That's good on their part,

tell me about it! Some of the excuses were really funnny. I used to ride a bike once and I never had visiblity issues or heat build up in my head when i wore helmet. Before blaming the Government or car makers the average Indian needs to be aware of his safety and the value of his life. Two wheeler riders are the worst on the roads today. they are the first to break signals and most believe they are alone on the road going by the way the change lanes at will.
My take on the whole issue is simple. Instead of pandu's fining riders and requesting them to wear helmets we should hit them where it hurts the most indirectly. The rule should be that any rider who meets with an accident and is found not wearing helmets will not get any insurance. Not for the bike and definately not for his life. Ok his family will suffer but he can't hold the government responsible for his families suffereing because if he was so concerned about his wife/parents/kids then he would have had a helmet. In the same way, any pedestrain who gets hit by a car when he was not at a zebra crossing cannot hold the car driver responsible. It will be totally his responsiblity. In the same way, if a pedestrain gets hit while on a zebra crossing the car owner will be responsible no matter what the facts of the case. I know it sounds barbaric but thats the only way out and the only way to civlise the beasts on the roads. I also feel news reports are wrongly worded. Every time a pedestrain gets killed or run over or a biker gets hit the papers say A pedestrain/biker was run over/hit by a car/truck. This is giving clean chit to the jaywalkers and idiotic riders. Frankly, sometimes i don't have any sympathy for a accident victim biker, considereing the way they ride, they deserve it.

That is a good idea. But regarding the pedestrians, even though I get irritated, my sympathies are with them. There are no proper footpaths, no subways, nothing. But a law against jaywalking is in order. But as lambo pointed out, the government seriously should start considering bettering the condition of our roads.

Oh. One more thing. The best (or worst) excuse I have heard about helmets is - 'It is bad for my hair'. Come on and give me a break. LOL