[kiran_cr]

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

Surprised to see him talk about this way.
Quote:
Nobody has yet proved that unsafe cars are the reason for higher road fatalities,” he said, adding that most companies now offer airbags in the top variants of all car models, so if buyers drive on highways at higher speeds, they can buy that version.
UnQoute

These days the cities are even more dreadful, and need as much of safety features as technology can provide. Also if it does raise the cost so be it. I am not sure why he calls it- Indian conditions!! The reason 2 wheelers are more risky is generally they are abused or other road users have scant regards for rules and fellow road users and as such should not be using the road.

This needs to be corrected by clamping down severly on road rules violations. Its not that everyone owns a car in all countries. Take the case of UK or Singapore, if they cannot afford a car, they dont buy it. It does not mean that they load the whole family and friends on a puny 100cc bike and ride like there is no tomorrow. They opt for public transport or alternate modes of transport. I dont think, a person who is from the automobile industry should downplay the importance of safety. Then how do we expect the lay person to beleive in it??

If nothing else, there should be an option to provide it, should the consumer want it. Why is it reserved for the highend models only. Are the users of basic cars lesser mortals, and their life has no value? In fact it was their company that changed the trend of getting ABS and Airbags in the sub 10 lac cars when SX4 ZXI came with both the features, and today almost all top variants from them have it(except for 800 and K10). They should not be creating variants based on the safety features. If that is the arguement why have seatbelts, removing it could save some costs

I totally agree with you. There should be a 2 step strategy to tackle this:

1. Since govt. is amending MV rules and making Bharat New vehicle assessment mandatory, there should be some sops provided by our govt to make sure that safety features like Airbags, ABS, EBD, ESP are provided at competitive costs and are not too exorbitant.
2. All vehicle manufacturers should follow Mahindra & Mahindra's Strategy by providing additional safety features as an "Option Pack" as they have done with New Scorpio. By doing this and educating probable customers with the importance of safety features im sure that more than 50% of them would opt for vehicles with safety features (even if its the base model) once point no 1 is taken care of. Slowly as more and more people get educated about the importance of air bags and abs, im sure that in the next few years there will be atleast 90% of customers opting for these features even in lower end models.

[ajaypjayaraj]

Just spotted at the entrance to National Hospital, Kozhikode. Guys were rushing to get the near by extinguisher. Soon after I clicked, the seat had turned into flames and people were clearing the area.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by ajaypjayaraj

Just spotted at the entrance to National Hospital, Kozhikode. Guys were rushing to get the near by extinguisher. Soon after I clicked, the seat had turned into flames and people were clearing the area.

Generally not heard of bikes catching fire (other than a couple of incidents reported in this forum). It could be a short circuit, mostly near the battery, else the fuse might have blown off(if its not tampered) with.

[Gannu_1]

Friend sent this over WhatsApp yesterday. Happened here in Surat within the city limits. Don't have anymore details.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by ajaypjayaraj

Just spotted at the entrance to National Hospital, Kozhikode. Guys were rushing to get the near by extinguisher. Soon after I clicked, the seat had turned into flames and people were clearing the area.

That is one smoking hot bike. Glad that no one was hurt.

[prakash_ajp]

The BETL flyover is a disaster waiting to happen, just a matter of time. I commute everyday on that road and see several violations every single day. Many two wheel drivers just stop anywhere to take a phone call; youngsters racing and playing while riding - this happened to me, a bunch of kids on two bikes were trying to hit each other while riding (what the hell) and one of them almost fell in my lane. I always watch out for such things and get paranoid, so I had slowed down enough to stop in time. *Sigh*

Also I wonder why broken down vehicles are not towed away immediately. In the land of "kitna deti hai", I guess it's much more economical to just wait for the friendly neighborhood mechanic to arrive!

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

The BETL flyover is a disaster waiting to happen, just a matter of time.

But it happens nearly every day. Except that we are so accustomed to disasters and the aftermath - nothing - that it is just a cycle for us. Perhaps you can also post up about the BETL flyover on that thread - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...2010-a-49.html

I'm trying to constantly go and irritate the BETL management to getting something done.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

While I don't think there's much risk of explosion, I do agree with the sentiment that these people gaping and milling around will hinder the efforts of any emergency services, or do-gooders.

Fire + Petrol... yes, there is a risk of explosion.

A couple of things from news over the past year or so:

Fire and explosions at firework factory: people run towards the risk to watch.

Centre part of bridge washed away in flood: people crowd onto the remaining structure to look.

What on earth happened to common sense, self preservation, and that most basic of human instinct, fear?

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

What on earth happened to common sense, self preservation, and that most basic of human instinct, fear?

Why bother with those base emotions, when you need to jostle to get a good spot for your latest WhatsApp/Facebook/Twitter photo upload?

[ajaypjayaraj]

Originally Posted by ajaypjayaraj

Just spotted at the entrance to National Hospital, Kozhikode. Guys were rushing to get the near by extinguisher. Soon after I clicked, the seat had turned into flames and people were clearing the area.

Been back in the same location moments ago and saw this...

That's the white powder (probably DCP) from the extinguisher. The security personnel said that the fire was extinguished before it could blow up the fuel tank. No one was injured.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Friend sent this over WhatsApp yesterday. Happened here in Surat within the city limits. Don't have anymore details.

How did that happen? Was the Fortuner flying and landed there? I guess it must have rear-ended some other vehicle.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

How did that happen? Was the Fortuner flying and landed there? I guess it must have rear-ended some other vehicle.

I am guessing that it would have been a case of sudden swerving and immediate panic braking followed by eventual collision which would have lifted the rear (such a vehicle with high centre of gravity) in an arc - neatly landing on top of the barricade. Even then, whether this would totally dislodge the rear wheels from the chassis is a puzzle.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Sorry, but that Ambassador won't be able to save people from injury. Being too sturdy and rigid is no good for safety. All the shock from the impact is passed directly to passengers and it will do the human body no good. A sad example will be Gopinath Munde' accident. The SX4 cabin was intact in that case but he passed away due to multiple internal injuries and a cardiac arrest.

What is required is crumble zones which will absorb the shock effectively by deforming and transferring as little energy into the cabin as possible. And a cabin which can maintain its integrity.

I beg to totally disagree. Crumple zones and the fragile bodyshells of the cheap, small matchboxes are maiming and killing more and more drivers and passengers.

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

The BETL flyover is a disaster waiting to happen

Originally Posted by naveenroy

But it happens nearly every day.

now with more and more heavy vehicles opting to take the BETL instead of the road below, there are at least couple of breakdowns everyday. on wednesday on my drive to office i saw three breakdowns in a span of 8km! these were just cars, but still choked the BETL for some time. imagine if a heavy one breaks down.

[paragsachania]

This is just a sample of what happens when a lane is blocked due to a breakdown or an accident!!