[pranavt]

Originally Posted by gops2009

Funny, even on this forum,whenever I have asked about safety aspects like crash ratings, I have hardly got a reply!! All the folks care about is is the ICE great? Do you have space in the third row? Why is the paint job Bad??!!! What goes into race cars today is what comes into passenger cars tomorrow

So you are saying tomorrow's passenger cars are going to have open wheels and cockpits and all occupants will be required to wear helmets?

[chevelle]

And now, we lose another driver in International Motorsports.

This time an off road racing champion - Rick Huseman.


Daggett Plane Crash: Pro Off-Road Racer, Rick Huseman, Among 3 Killed in Plane Crash near Barstow - WPMT

Plane crash kills off-road racing champion and 2 others - CNN.com

R.I.P Rick Huseman. Condolences to the family and friends of all who passed away.

What's with this October month. We have lost as many as 4-5 legends of various fields.

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by chevelle

And now, we lose another driver in International Motorsports.

This time an off road racing champion - Rick Huseman.


Daggett Plane Crash: Pro Off-Road Racer, Rick Huseman, Among 3 Killed in Plane Crash near Barstow - WPMT

Plane crash kills off-road racing champion and 2 others - CNN.com

R.I.P Rick Huseman. Condolences to the family and friends of all who passed away.

What's with this October month. We have lost as many as 4-5 legends of various fields.

Now this is becoming a tragic month for sure!

RIP Rick Huseman! Its a sad day for motorsport fans!

[AdityaLN]

Article from NYTimes. Looks like people had some misgivings about the track even before the race. Have not been a big follower of Indy series, can only recollect Dancia Patrick and Indy 500 but by reading the article, it looks like the promoters had only promoting the series in mind rather than the safety of the drivers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/sp...nted=1&_r=1&hp

[gops2009]

Originally Posted by pranavt

So you are saying tomorrow's passenger cars are going to have open wheels and cockpits and all occupants will be required to wear helmets?

Sorry, pranavt, I guess you completely missed my point, the point is that there is either nobody having the knowledge or there is nobody really concerned about the aspect of a safe design. The concept of crumple zones, the fade resistant braking materials, the carbon fibre parts are all something that translated from the racing world to passenger cars! It does not mean that tomorrow we wil have open wheels and btw we are already having cockpits inspired from the racing world and if you are not already aware, one of the greatest contributions of F1 is to the improvement of passenger car design.

There are over 45 pages of animated discussion on the looks of XUV, the rear seat, the music system, the handling and the like, but not one comment on the fundamental question Has this design been crash tested?? maybe no one asked and in a country with a population as large as India's what are a few human lives worth? We can always have live dummies and no manufacturer is foolish enough to invest in something which is not mandatory in this country and Mahindra is not an exception. however if M&M plan to roll it out to other developed countries , they will have to get a crash test rating.

please do not get me wrong, I'm not criticizing the topics discussed nor 'm I hinting that these topics are not relevant; I'm only wondering aloud that in a forum of car lovers why is it that the topic of safe design is not taken up as a mandatory part of any review. In a nation where there is no law that mandates testing of design safety, a forum of this nature can make a big difference and I'm sure many of you out here on the forum agree.