[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by saket77

True. Toyota and VW are missing an opportunity to advertise themselves as 'caring' manufacturers and that their cars are much safer than the competition.

Originally Posted by partha379

I am also wondering why competitors who offer safer cars are not pouncing on this. I am sure if a competitor starts highlighting this as part of their sales pitch, companies might react faster.

VW certainly has been! We bought our Polo in December last year and the showroom was full of posters proclaiming the Polo as "India Safest Hatchback". This was back when the Swift and a few others failed while the Polo got its four star rating (Liva was untested at the time).

I'm sure there will be a round 2 to that campaign from both Toyota and VW.

[shobhitk]

Originally Posted by smartcat

The attached PDF doesn't say CARS. It says LMVs.

There are 3 or 4 categories of LMVs - private cars (for private use) are one of them, I agree.

But -

1) Autorickshaws (both transport & people carriers)
2) Share Taxis (Mahindra Jeeps, Tempo Trax, light Vans etc)
3) Tata Ace category of vehicles (both transport & people carriers)

also belong to LMV category.

There are simply not enough people travelling in private cars to cause so many deaths (because private car ownership is so low in India)

Thanks for the pointer.

the verbatim quote from the NCAP publication goes like this ....In India occupants of Light motor vehicle, (which include cars, SUVs and jeeps) constitute approximately 16.3 % of the total fatalities, making this category the second highest in total road crashes in the country.

the NCAP concern for the deaths in road crashes involving light motor vehicles ( which excludes Heavy trucks and buses etc.) should lead us to a safer road travel.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by shobhitk

[/i][/b]the NCAP concern for the deaths in road crashes involving light motor vehicles ( which excludes Heavy trucks and buses etc.) should lead us to a safer road travel.

In the end, regardless of the inherent safety or lack of it in any particular vehicle, it is the driving that could lead to safer road travel.

The same number of accidents, leading, due to vehicle improvement, to fewer fatalities and major injuries, is some improvement in the overall state of things, but really. not much.

[anand.shankar]

Is the Indian Punto tested anytime ? How does it fare ? I am unable to find any results online. I did see a video of 3 door version being tested.

[Captain Haddock]

I have a different perspective on this. If cars like nano or kwid is strictly confined to city limits, no point in having airbags provided the entire structure does not collapse on impact. Basics like structural integrity and crumble zones should do the trick. It is the shell which is the mainstay, airbags in a weak shell is daft. I think most cars have a shorter bonnet which makes things more difficult for ensuring structural integrity. My argument can be summed up like this. An old school sturdy car say a Lancer with good structural integrity is far safer than a kwid or 800 with airbags

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Captain Haddock

I have a different perspective on this. If cars like nano or kwid is strictly confined to city limits, no point in having airbags provided the entire structure does not collapse on impact.

The crash tests are performed at normal city speeds.

An old school sturdy car say a Lancer with good structural integrity is far safer than a kwid or 800 with airbags

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emtLLvXrrFs

[Thad E Ginathom]

Previously, I would have rated seat belts and wearing them as more important than airbags --- but, I suppose those poor dummies in the no-air-bag cars would have been belted, so I guess I should review that thinking.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Previously, I would have rated seat belts and wearing them as more important than airbags --- but, I suppose those poor dummies in the no-air-bag cars would have been belted, so I guess I should review that thinking.

Seat belt is the most important safety system and hence the naming convention for airbags as supplemental restraint systems, primary being seatbelts.

[shobhitk]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Seat belt is the most important safety system and hence the naming convention for airbags as secondary restraint systems, primary being seatbelts.

Airbags are secondary restraint systems. As air bags do not function if the person is not using the seat belt, the importance of seat belts is paramount.

Originally Posted by Captain Haddock

I have a different perspective on this. If cars like nano or kwid is strictly confined to city limits, no point in having airbags provided the entire structure does not collapse on impact. Basics like structural integrity and crumble zones should do the trick.

An old school sturdy car say a Lancer with good structural integrity is far safer than a kwid or 800 with airbags

Air bags have proven utility but if the car is strictly confined to the city limits and driver is cautious, seat belts are very dependable to save the life.

[TD_GHY]

Originally Posted by Captain Haddock

If cars like nano or kwid is strictly confined to city limits, no point in having airbags provided the entire structure does not collapse on impact. Basics like structural integrity and crumble zones should do the trick. It is the shell which is the mainstay, airbags in a weak shell is daft. I think most cars have a shorter bonnet which makes things more difficult for ensuring structural integrity. My argument can be summed up like this. An old school sturdy car say a Lancer with good structural integrity is far safer than a kwid or 800 with airbags

But the reality is
1. Cars with structural integrity like Lancer are not affordable to many and they end up buying Alto or Kwid or Eon. So airbags will atleast help save a few lives there. Something is better than nothing argument.
2. Sadly, no car is kept within city speed limits by Indian drivers. Since behavior takes time to change, immediate focus should be on building better cars with structural integrity and safety features.

Originally Posted by shobhitk

Airbags are secondary restraint systems. As air bags do not function if the person is not using the seat belt, the importance of seat belts is paramount.

Airbag operation is dependent on the algorithms employed by the particular car manufacturer. In some cases, airbags will open despite not wearing seat belts. But it will do more harm than good. So it is recommended to always wear seat belts.

[vishusingh]

I looked up NCAP test reviews for Creta and turns out it scored a decent 4 stars rating, could anyone confirm that?

Also the model that was tested was equivalent to the SX+ variant afaik as it had 2 airbags in the front (not the 6 airbags from the SX(O)).

http://m.carandbike.com/news/hyundai...h-test-1255657

[shobhitk]

Originally Posted by vishusingh

I looked up NCAP test reviews for Creta and turns out it scored a decent 4 stars rating, could anyone confirm that?

Also the model that was tested was equivalent to the SX+ variant afaik as it had 2 airbags in the front (not the 6 airbags from the SX(O)).

http://m.carandbike.com/news/hyundai...h-test-1255657

this test appears to be related to Letin model of Creta. It might be structurally different. Had it been on identical model, Hyundai would have notified it by now.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by vishusingh

I looked up NCAP test reviews for Creta and turns out it scored a decent 4 stars rating, could anyone confirm that?

Originally Posted by shobhitk

this test appears to be related to Letin model of Creta. It might be structurally different. Had it been on identical model, Hyundai would have notified it by now.

Look no further - only two cars ( mass segment) plying on Indian roads have decent G NCAP crash test ratings - Volkswagen's Polo and Toyota's Etios Liva.

[vishusingh]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Look no further - only two cars plying on Indian roads have decent G NCAP ratings - Volkswagen's Polo and Toyota's Etios Liva.

Originally Posted by shobhitk

this test appears to be related to Letin model of Creta. It might be structurally different. Had it been on identical model, Hyundai would have notified it by now.

Well that's unfortunate, I'm in the process of getting a Creta SX+ Auto and was really hoping for decent NCAP ratings on it, but it seems we don't have any official news about it so far :(

[lurker]

Originally Posted by anand.shankar

Is the Indian Punto tested anytime ? How does it fare ? I am unable to find any results online. I did see a video of 3 door version being tested.

I too was thinking same, but my strong fear is that the Indian Punto & Linea base model is still sold without airbags and at most they will get 1 star or at worst 0. Thus they are quiet about it.