[Who_are_you]

Originally Posted by chandra1

A had an accident a few days back when as driving from Noida to Hyderabad. The place was near Seoni, MP. These were smooth ghat roads, the traffic was sparse and I was cruising at a speed of 90-100. It was drizzling that morning and the roads were wet.
Gave the vehicle at MASS and the bill was 1 Lak

Lucky escape. Please DO NOT drive car after accident. You could have met with another accident due to part failure or get stuck in some lonely road.

[sudev]

Re Auto & Swift accident near Bikaner.

Something just does not seem to add up.

The damage is on the left hand side of the car and the vehicles were were apparently travelling towards each other. Damage to Auto is on the right hand side.

Damage is extensive to both though the swift is totally deformed. Knowing the area and the way Auto's are driven on highway I suspect that the combined speed of approach would have been in region of 160~200kph.

Did driver loose control at very very high speed and ended up spinning the car before hitting the Auto broadside? At that speed the vehicles would have bounced back from each other like a ball hitting a wall.

RIP

[wangdu]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

..
Without any particular reference to your post, the general Indian mentality of skipping personal accountability and holding some "authority" responsible has to stop. Sabka vikas will happen only with better understanding of precautions and knowing consequences of decisions that people choose to take. Government is just a manifestation of the general people's mentality and awareness. People need to gain awareness and rise to higher levels of safety and everything slse.

The way I see it is that unless there's a cane of authorities ready to slap us, the primate in us would barely evolve. Now even after this unfortunate accident there won't be any investigation, correct? And that's the point. The 'sarkar' would just ignore it as just another blip. Contrast it to the accident investigations, learning & strict law structures in developed countries which ensures that one and all fall in line including ignorant/high-headed/rash us from developing countries who give a zero care and respect to laws here.

The authorities are there for a reason and not for stating condolences after the fact. We also know the lax attitude of authorities when accidents arise from trucks parked in the middle of highway, iron rods hanging from tractors without warning lights, wrong side driving (just today there's a news of 2 people dead and 1 pilot critically injured in gurgaon due to wrong way driving) and the list is endless.

Yes, the people in general should do their part but that awareness can be imbibed only through strict laws which can permeate through our thick skin. We all know that such accidents will happen again, not a question of if but when. It's nothing short of a miracle that we end up alive at the end of driving on our roads. While the people will do their best to survive out there, the infrastructure and laws will fail us, time and again.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

https://www.marutisuzuki.com/channel...tchbacks/swift
v/s
http://www.globalsuzuki.com/automobi...pec/index.html

Indian swift petrol (1.2K) max weight 880kg
Euro swift petrol (1.6K) min weight 1045kg
A difference of 165 kg cannot be from just having a larger engine. The euro version HAS TO BE structurally beefed up w.r.t the indian one.

Dear Venkyhere,
It is evident from your link that you shared the weight of the Gen3 Swift in India against the weight of the Gen2 Swift Sport worldwide, which is an absurd comparison since there is a difference in platform between the two. Also, there is a considerable weight difference between the 1.2L K Series and the 1.6L M Series engine in the above two.

Here is the correct link to the Gen3 Swift worldwide, http://www.globalsuzuki.com/automobi...ift/index.html



If you check the kerb weight of the 1.2L engine, it varies between 840-890 kilos, where the full options amount to more number of airbags, radar brake assist and a CVT transmission. Now where is this difference in weight being talked about?

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by audioholic

To me it feels more like a bigger vehicle T boned the swift. .

I too thought on the same lines, then the post from Mayank appeared on the forum. I went through the Hindi news piece, did my research and discovered this (It is indeed 100% true):

Source: http://epaper.patrika.com/1646239/Rajasthan-Patrika-Bikaner/Bikaner-Rajasthan-Patrika#page/4/2

Source: http://epaper.bhaskar.com/detail/743...0/191/3/image/

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Same here. Also no yellow or green paint on the swift anywhere. How is that possible.

It is indeed there, look at the image thoroughly and you will find a tinge of green colour on the front door. Look at the highlighted section in the pic below:

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Had enough of this kitna deti hai nonsense.

This isn't going to change because not only the less informed, even the more informed urban crowd is also fascinated by those Maruti tin cans like this Swift and balloon..err...Baleno.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

one of those scandals that everybody forgets about. The Indian Swift is/was not built to the same standards as the European one.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

The crumble zones in the Swift worked (as expected, some might say) faster than the tin can auto - which some consider as the most unsafe.

The crumple zones indeed worked very well here, I also believe that the passengers in the Swift also weren't buckled. If they were, then this outcome wasn't possible for both of them at least.

Rest, those who aren't fully proficient with Hindi, I have translated the following news item for them:

Originally Posted by mayanksabharwal

As per the newspaper report, the husband and wife were in a fight and in his anger, the husband started driving the car fast.

The news piece translates as:

The IAF officer Mr. Dev Pratap and his wife Priyanka were on the way to Bikaner, they got indulged in some sort of let's say 'fight' in the moving car itself.
As a result the car started swerving (Maybe physical violence here), an ambulance driver; who is also an eye witness, told the cops that "They both were indulged in a fight in the moving car and the car was swerving on the highway. so, the ambulance driver warned them; after which the husband started driving very fast in his anger (seriously!! that's perfect manhood ). after which he lost the control of the vehicle (Probably a spin-off after say a few more swerves) and the outcome is 4 deaths and many injuries.

Military officers are very much disciplined kind of people, I am surprised looking at the way things have turned out to be in this case.

Originally Posted by audioholic

I dont want to enter the debate of safe v/s unsafe, but comparing both the Swift, either the European one is as unsafe as the Indian one, or vice versa.

I won't go on to talk about the weight here, even with the same or similar weight - the use of different materials can make a difference of two worlds.

Once a friend was telling me how Maruti achieved the feat of making Baleno so much light weight and still manage to make it as safe as a Polo. I simply gave this reasoning, and I will fit it again here:
Weight + Safety + Material Cost is the combination that is to be optimized. If Baleno is bigger, more spacious than Polo, being 18-20% (Read again - that is 18-20%) lighter in weight and has same strength, then it's not possible to price it lower than a Polo - the price of light weight material itself is more than enough to play its part here.

• Heavy Weight + Minor Safety = Lower Cost
• Heavy weight + Major Safety = Medium cost
• Light weight + Poor Safety = Lowest Cost
• Light weight + Major Safety = Very High Cost

Going by the price and crash performance of Maruti cars, I am not going to put them in any bracket - but I feel that this third one is where they mostly fit. They are lightest, priced lowest and get crushed like tin cans in the events of crashes. Weight maybe is equal, maybe they have done a wonderful R&D exercise for European market where they have to face more stringent norms - but I doubt if the same has come to Indian market. It's easy to maintain same weight by removing some members from the stronger light weight chassis and having the heavier but less stronger material, result == same weight but much difference in safety.


And mind you, going by the balance sheet of Maruti; they don't have any safety standards for which they will compromise their bottom line and put in pricier metal in the chassis. Heck, why should they, when buyers are already queued up to get their tin cans outside their dealerships?

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by mayanksabharwal

.... As per the newspaper report, the husband and wife were in a fight and in his anger, the husband started driving the car fast. This resulted in the car going out of control and colliding with a rickshaw....

Two women from the rickshaw and both husband and wife from the car died on the spot....

Husband: "Hello, news reporter? I am having a fight with my wife, looks like I'll have to drive fast"
Reporter: "Go on. keep me informed"
Husband: "Ok, here comes an auto"
Bang!
Reporter: "Hello, is it the head office? Turn the mic on. Here's some breaking news"

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

Husband: "Hello, news reporter? I am having a fight with my wife, looks like I'll have to drive fast"
Reporter: "Go on. keep me informed"
Husband: "Ok, here comes an auto"
Bang!
Reporter: "Hello, is it the head office? Turn the mic on. Here's some breaking news"

Well, it is further mentioned that an ambulance driver who was passing by witnessed them fighting inside the car and he must have narrated it to the news channel.

[Kishen.padiyar]

Originally Posted by Sheel

I am surprised by the way the Scorpio has held up against the Ford.

Couple of points here.

1) In the case of Endeavour, the impact is taken by a small portion on the right side whereas on the Scorpio, the impact seems to be more towards the center - giving it more area for dissipating energy.

2) The Scorpio had a bull bar installed.

3) End of the day, both are 2.5 ton butch body on frame vehicles but to me, it looks like the Ford had held up well compared to the mighty Mahindra.

[Who_are_you]

Toyota Fortuner crashes into a truck and gets totalled, airbags didn't get deployed.

Source : https://medium.com/@divyjaising/targ...e-f66317453c8a

[Vik0728]

I too thought on the same lines, then the post from Mayank appeared on the forum. I went through the Hindi news piece, did my research and discovered this (It is indeed 100% true)

Woah man that is some serious wakeup call!!

Assuming the fact that the news article is 100% true, what have Maruti stooped down to keep the weight in check?
Looks like there objective is only to compete with TVS Victors, Hero Splendours, and thereabouts to squeeze the best mileage. I don't see any other sensible reason to make such light cars, which are not even rigid

Condolences to the departed, and hope the injured recover completely.

On a lighter note, Maruti may now add Bajaj to their list of tie-ups (Fiat, Toyota), for building their cars.

Just image, a Bajaj Swift with RE (Rear Engine). LOL

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Dear Venkyhere,
It is evident from your link that you shared the weight of the Gen3 Swift in India against the weight of the Gen2 Swift Sport worldwide, which is an absurd comparison since there is a difference in platform between the two.

oops ! I must have atleast checked the photo before posting too soon , call it confirmation bias - it was not intentional to post wrong info.
Thanks for the right link, I stand corrected

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The section near Nizambad is usually empty and super fast that one needs to really concentrate even when driving during the day. Its FAST but it can create near hallucination of a still image ahead for hours!

I agree with you. I hit a small dog on the same stretch when my Figo was new. I was driving in the middle lane around 90 to hundred, and suddenly this one darted across the empty road at great speed, from behind a bush on the divider.

I did not swerve, but only slammed the brakes. I must have hit it at a speed of around 60. Though i feel sad for the dog, it's small size saved me, with just a cracked number plate and a bent AC condenser. There were no leaks below the car, when I checked after a few 100 meters. I got the number plate changed, but left the condenser as it is, on the advice of FASS.

The SA said that stretch is notorious for dogs, and a Fiesta had hit one and suffered engine damage that cost around 2 lakhs to repair. I was told he had continued to drive without checking for oil leaks, and the engine ceased after some time.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by wangdu

... Yes, the people in general should do their part but that awareness can be imbibed only through strict laws which can permeate through our thick skin. We all know that such accidents will happen again, not a question of if but when. It's nothing short of a miracle that we end up alive at the end of driving on our roads. While the people will do their best to survive out there, the infrastructure and laws will fail us, time and again.

I completely agree with your post, but please do not think that it is India alone that cannot simply do the right thing without some help from the strong arm the law.

I lived through the introduction of both seat-belt and strict-drink-driving laws in UK. Both were regarded by many drivers as absolute intrusions into their personal human rights! Neither would have been accepted, back then, had it not been for severe penalties (at least for drink related stuff) and the fact that the the laws were consistently and continuously enforced from the start right up to the present day (although police manpower on British streets is another story). During that period they became accepted as social norms, not just laws. But it would not have happened without the law.

But, it seems that in India, enforcement consists of passing fashions.

[jetsetgo08]

No-star/3-Star/5-star. I wouldn't consider the Etios twins as safe either. Although, light build and strength could be disjunctive, lighter cars just don't inspire any confidence.

I just hope that there wouldn't be a day where customers start roll caging their cars for their own safety. Any business potential?

P.S.: I drive a weak tallboy car, and such incidents make me further regret my purchase.

[Acharya]

Originally Posted by Who_are_you

Toyota Fortuner crashes into a truck and gets totalled, airbags didn't get deployed.

It looks like front bar of chassis has taken serious beating, as its bent inward.
If airbags don't deploy in such situations, god knows when else would they deploy.

Toyota better explain this, as its not the first time that airbags have not deployed in an accident when it should have.