![]() |
| | Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
![]() | #61 |
BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Kolkata
Posts: 95
Thanked: 4 Times
| ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
|
![]() | #62 |
BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 711
Thanked: 267 Times
| ![]() Here's a link to a few more pictures that show the impact on the S-Class. Mercedes Benz Technical Failure causes Death | Punjabi Portal Articles |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
![]() | #63 | |
Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ghaziabad/Hyderabad/Mysore
Posts: 1,415
Thanked: 318 Times
| ![]() Quote:
In my defence - till a few months ago I thought they did, then somebody on one of TBHP threads wrote they don't (with so much confidence oozing out of his language that people like me wouldn't question). TBHP can on occasions have misinformation amplified. I still don't think insurance companies have anything to do with it. Their liabilities do sometime include injuies to third parties - airbags may save a lot more. Coming back to the issue - from the video posted in post #1 (parts of it that show the car) and the picture in post #3 coupled with the descrition of the accident I am still at a loss as to how a car hits a truck with its right (i.e. the driver's side) and then jumps over the divider which must have been to the car's right as well. Either I'm missing something big or something is missing from the story told so far. Now, if the car hit the truck with it's left side (i.e. passenger's side) then it makes sense that the passenger side airbag deployed (may be driver was trying to rake some evasive action and the sensors decided this was the best course of action). As far as speeding is concerned, looking at the width of the road in the picture and the description of the accident (car hit the truck, went over the divider to the other side and then hit the kiosks violently enough to cause damage) it is very unlikely that the car wasn't speeding in the first place. | |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #64 | |
Team-BHP Support ![]() | ![]() Quote:
![]() Direct link to post And here's a link to United India insurance that states the 50% deduction on airbags. | |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
![]() | #65 | |
Senior - BHPian | ![]() Airbag firing would not have helped in this case because the the intrusion has completely entered the cabin. Front end of the car is intact. If the truck had an under-ride bumper his life would have been saved. Quote:
Unfortunately I also find myself repeating the same sad explanation every time there is another fatality. | |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #66 |
Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vadodara
Posts: 4,744
Thanked: 1,738 Times
| ![]() 1) Agree with .Anshuman. The Indian trucks are way too high. Their so called bumpers are feets above the ground. Any low car will have impact straight into the A-pillar. We cannot call this Mercedes-Benz blunder and Airbag failure. Given the shape the A-pillar is in, I doubt if Airbags would have helped. The A-pillar is reduced to just one thin panel, that high was the impact energy. Contrary to other's belief, considering that the car has taken multiple hits at kiosks, it has stood up rather good IMHO. 2) I wonder where the car was located relative to the truck because its the right side A-pillar which has taken hit. Either the car was in right lane and truck came from left, seeing this the car driver took a sudden left turn so right A-pillar got hit. OR The car was in left lane and the crash happened. Wonder what was the scene, but the high truck designs are to be blamed. I have seen many accidents where in the cars are literally ripped from A-pillar but the entire hood area is relatively unaffected. 3) I am pointing out a couple of images from where I believe that the thing which is marked are airbags. Images are sourced from : Mercedes Benz Technical Failure causes Death | Punjabi Portal Articles Last edited by aaggoswami : 12th December 2011 at 23:55. |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #67 | |
BHPian Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Chennai
Posts: 185
Thanked: 46 Times
| ![]() Quote:
Last edited by Suess : 15th December 2011 at 18:21. | |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #68 | |
Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ghaziabad/Hyderabad/Mysore
Posts: 1,415
Thanked: 318 Times
| ![]() Quote:
May I add that the driver is completely immobilised by the harness. Seat belt is a must in road going cars. Back to the topic - the Punjabi portal link in the posts above has a picture of the road (attached here). The following is the description of the accident from the victim's family: "A truck moving parallel to his car, took a sudden turn due which he had to apply sudden brakes. Unfortunately he hit the truck from the driver's side. Due to the collision the rod, ...which holds the windscreen of the car broke and hit Nirmal near the shoulder, which caused him to loose control of the car. " From post #7 and "When the car hit the truck, it lost control, crossed the divider and ended up hitting some road side shops which resulted in maximum damage. It didn't go under the truck." From post #11 Now the road has two lanes. Which lane was the car in, left or right? and which lane was the truck in left or right? If the car was in the left lane and truck in the right, the car can't cross the divider post-accident. If it was the other way round, the car would hit the truck on the passenger side, not the driver side. I thought that by "divider" in his post Mark my have meant the sidewalk - but there is no sidewalk on the road in the picture. Also - "which holds the windscreen of the car broke and hit Nirmal near the shoulder, which caused him to loose control of the car" - the deceleration experienced by the car may not have been enough to deploy the airbag in the first place. The car's condition looks pretty good for the severity of the accident described. Last edited by vina : 15th December 2011 at 20:28. | |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #69 | ||
BHPian Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Chennai
Posts: 185
Thanked: 46 Times
| ![]() Quote:
Quote:
yes, it is hard to imagine the course of events at the time of accident with those pics and descriptions given. it doesn't add quite well. I think the case is in court now and we will see some facts and sense come out of it. just my opinion, but going against MB is not a big help here, while only they would be having experties(at least in india) to do forensic work and find out what actually (might) have happened at least to the car at the time of accident. but then they might do that to make their case anyway. regarding F1 seat belts, you are right, the F1 drivers are "hold down" in their seats with 6 point belts and additional harness on helmets. i just didn't mentioned that because i was just talking about car body and it's importance in keeping you safe. Last edited by Suess : 16th December 2011 at 14:23. | ||
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #70 |
BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Jaipur
Posts: 104
Thanked: 72 Times
| ![]() My deepest condolences to you and your entire family. I really hope u get justice and closure for this tragic incident. Please keep us updated with the whereabouts of the case. |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #71 |
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Muvattupuzha, KL
Posts: 299
Thanked: 165 Times
| ![]() The earlier model S-Class used to come with passenger seat weight sensors so that only if a passenger is seated the passenger side air bags would deploy. Do the new models have that feature? If yes , I see a major flaw in the airbag system of the car in question, the passenger airbag deployed without a passenger on passenger seat. |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #72 | |
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Muvattupuzha, KL
Posts: 299
Thanked: 165 Times
| ![]() Quote:
Note: i got this information from Mercedes Benz India website. I am not saying that airbags would have saved the driver's life, but we should understand that most of safety features advertised by manufacturers of premium cars are only good on ads and hypothetical/test situations. | |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #73 |
BHPian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: indore
Posts: 101
Thanked: 72 Times
| ![]() from whatever photos i've seen of the crash it is very clear that the airbags did not open due to a technical snag which is entirely the car's fault.. in one photo it looks like the driver's side curtain airbags did open (punjabiportal) but why did the front airbag not open??? The other question is about the traffic discipline.. truck drivers very often take sudden turns without looking.. should they not be dealt with very seriously? the truck owners should also be taken to task to ensure safety on our roads |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #74 |
BHPian | ![]() RIP Nirmal. If an A Pillar has to be sheared under impact, i can't even guess the speeds the car was doing. The curtain airbags seems to have deployed. Keralites might remember the accident in which a business tycoons son got killed when his overspeeding Japanese origin car turned turtle & fell into the pit. Therefore it is not MB's fault alone. ABS, Airbags etc does not guarantee anything. CMVR/ARAI rules which allow the present truck designs & RTO's who issue & renew vehicle permits overseeing the side protection bars (which is now mandatory for HCV's) are to blame. |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | #75 |
BHPian | ![]() My hearty condolences to the deceased person's family.What i see is that most cars cannot save you from an A pillar impact as it is an achille's heel.And Safety ratings are not taking into account conditions in our country.In a place like India the safest cars would be ones with higher ground clearance which can avoid going under trucks.There should be safety devices which should be able to fold the seat backwards using an A pillar sensor to save from critical injury in such situations. |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
![]() | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Owner liable if minor is involved in accident: Supreme Court | cooljai | Road Safety | 34 | 28th April 2018 10:16 |
If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you! | EPMV | Introduce yourself | 7 | 30th March 2016 12:17 |
Mercedes S class owner goes to court after faulty headrests in S class. | Vid6639 | Indian Car Dealerships | 18 | 25th January 2015 21:14 |
SKODA again !!! Court orders compensation for owner of defective Fabia | arin_12 | The Indian Car Scene | 28 | 4th January 2012 20:20 |
FIR required for self-accident on the road? | prajwalkashyap | Indian Car Loans & Insurance | 16 | 20th December 2011 18:03 |