![]() | #346 | |
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() | ![]() Quote:
![]() Because buses are the biggest things on the road, passengers don't even get seat belts. | |
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![]() | #347 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai
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| ![]() City Driving Conceptions, Preconceptions, Misconceptions and International Comparisons. Again, my much-posted example: try walking into a wall. See how much it hurts. It is eleven years since I left London and moved to Chennai. My average journey speed here is higher now than it was in London then. If people really want to know what bumper-to-bumper traffic is, forget India: go try London! In the faster and yet infinitely less disciplined world of Indian-city driving, safety features, which Indian manufacturers and Indian customers are happily leaving out are actually much more important. And, moving on, how about stuff that is pretty standard on cars outside India, but not found even on supposed-to-be-safer cars like VW's Polo, such as safety-belt pre-tensioners? Last edited by Thad E Ginathom : 21st May 2016 at 14:13. |
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![]() | #348 | |
BHPian Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Lucknow
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Oh yes, there are always stretches in the cities, where one can drive fast at 50-60 speed, but Cop regulated traffic has speed limitations, which, in a way is good. Driving fast, without having proper safety, is dangerous. NCAP tests done, close to 60 KMPH show the extent of damage, which can happen to the car as well as the occupants. | |
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![]() | #349 | |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Mumbai
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Another thing I noticed in one of the cars in the test videos was that the steering wheel moved into the dummy's chest ahead of the rest of the car. that indicates that the steering column, instead of collapsing, would actually help in crushing the driver's ribcage! Last edited by FarPatel : 21st May 2016 at 17:22. | |
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![]() | #350 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai
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| ![]() By the way, and only slightly offtopic. Based on another when-I-last-looked statistic: what is the difference between above and below 30MPH? (hang on... 48kph) Above 30MPH, if you hit a pedestrian the chances are that you will kill them. (there are probably other differences, but that is the one that sticks in my mind.) |
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![]() | #351 | |
Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() Quote:
My 2009 i10 has seatbelt pretensioners. Isn't it the case that all airbag equipped cars must have seat belt pretensioners? Else the airbags themselves would turn out to be the biggest threat in case of a collision. ![]() | |
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![]() | #352 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai
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| ![]() I could be wrong. I'd like to be wrong, but I don't think my 2014 Polo, with its two airbags, has pretensioners. |
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![]() | #353 | |
BHPian Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: DEL, SFO
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![]() | #354 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mysore
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| ![]() Sadly, you're right. The Polo has never had pre-tensioners in India. Might have given it that elusive fifth star in the NCAP tests (the Latin American Vento with pre-tensioners manages to score the full five stars) |
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![]() | #355 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Cochin
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| ![]() this comparison could be stupid, but posting out of curiosity. Let's take a small car with airbags, say a wagon r or Ritz on one side and a full blown SUV like a TATA SAFARI weighing over 2 tons without airbags. A car without airbags will fail ncap but in real life which would be safer? PS-SAFARI is just an example any big SUV without airbags would fit in for the comparison. |
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![]() | #356 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Kolkata
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| ![]() Slightly off topic, we are debating about ABS, ESP, NCAP ratings, airbags etc but does the common people know their importance? Remember these common people are the majority of car buyers, not enthusiasts like us. Few months ago we went to buy a car for my relatives. I advised Elite i20 but my relatives preferred the Xcent only because it was a "sedan". Considering the car would be driven all time by a chauffeur, I adviced Xcent S(O) variant as it had all the comfort and safety features without the reversing camera, push button start etc. But the sales person advised the Xcent S variant saying ABS & airbags are not needed inside city so why waste that money, go for the S variant and add some nice seat covers with that extra money. My relatives had no monetory problem to go with the top end variants of Xcent or Elite i20 yet they chose the Xcent S variant "sedan" with those seat covers. This is the mentality of common car buyers and sales persons. Manufacturers are here to make profit, majority of car buyers prefer fancy seat covers, alloys etc which they can show off over an airbag, ABS, ESP which isn't visible other than a badge or sticker. Only way to make our cars and roads safer is to make safety features mandatory by govt. in all variants, not just optional and making the traffic rules stricter like high fines for not wearing seat belts/helmets, rash driving etc. P.S. My post was not meant to hurt or insult anyone's feelings, sorry if it has caused any. |
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![]() | #357 | |
BHPian ![]() | ![]() Quote:
It is that common sense that we are missing here. Car buyers places themselves in the less than 2% of the population, it is not too much to expect basic awareness from them. I have to quote something from Shrek II here "Donkey, you HAVE the right to remain silent. What you lack, is the capacity" In my opinion, the government can add a page in the RTO forms that requires the buyers signature acknowledging that they have been informed about the NCAP ratings (when it starts in India) of the vehicle model they are registering. | |
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![]() | #358 |
BHPian | ![]() TATA have set a precedent here by offering two airbags with seat belts having load limiters and pre-tensioners in all variants of the TIAGO for 18,000rs. Maybe we will see them as standard in all cars once the Indian safety norms kick in by 2017 since the price is not at all a hindrance for being offered as a standard equipment. |
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![]() | #359 | |
Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() Quote:
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![]() | #360 | |
Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() Quote:
Actually, the Volvos and Mercs and Scanias come with seatbelts, but after a couple of days, they are removed by the operator. I've specifically seen belts on Shivneris, and some private buses, only to be removed later. But the first row seats have belts provided for them; atleast in the state govt operated Volvos. | |
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