[PrasannaDhana]

I voted yes.

I have driven over 5.5 lakh kilometers so far. I have had 0 accidents till now, not even a minor one. I feel safe no matter what car I drive.

I feel safe in my storme, my ciaz, heck even in my kwid. Guess that "feel safe" factor for me relies on the absolute confidence I have in myself when it comes to driving.

[tweaker]

Voted Yes.

I currently drive a Jetta Comfortline and have been extremely impressed by all the safety gubbins it offers. Built like a tank with everything from 6 Airbags, all around disk brakes to Traction Control as standard, it feels reassuringly safe to drive on Indian highways.

Also, it is extremely predictable in terms of overall reliability (even though there have been various reports of battery and water pump failures) which boosts your confidence even more.

[rageshgr]

From a car perspective, I voted a big YES! I learnt the hard-way in a Santro without airbags and was not wearing seat belts either (Young and foolish). Well that was 8 years ago.

So during my next car purchase, safety was my first priority. If it didn't tick all my safety related boxes, then it didn't matter how attractively priced, feature loaded or how great it was. It had to be rejected.

Hence I bought the car with the most loaded safety features this side of 10 lacs. The GT TSI. It had ABS/Airbags/EBD/ESP/TC/Hill Assist. Tough build quality to boot. The fact that it was my dream car as well, performance-wise, only helped. I do feel safe in my car knowing that safety was high up in the priority list in the design of this car. I too religiously follow safe driving practices.

But, do I feel safe with the possibility of people, buffaloes and what not, springing out of the median, even in Express-ways? That is a whole new story.

[mrinmoy_s]

I voted YES. However, this is true only for one of my cars and that is a Skoda Rapid with ABS and 2 Airbags and solid build quality.
The other one is a Hyundai EON without any safety aids (other than the mandatory seat belts of course) and a "tin can" build quality. I do not feel safe in that.
My vote is completely based on "feeling safe" and not supported by any data. I have experienced the advantage of an ABS on wet road once during an emergency braking and the build quality of my Rapid does give me a feeling of being inside a solid metal enclosure that can suddenly put an extra layer of mental peace during my highway drives.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I am surprised to find that so many actually feel safe in their cars!

'Feeling safe' is a relative term here. Of course most of us will be aware of the inherent dangers of driving on Indian roads (not just highways). Firstly, does one feel 'in control' when he is driving? Or is he worried all the time that something may go wrong most of the time? If one follows defensive driving, understands the limitation of the vehicle and road conditions, one should at least feel 'in control'.

[Ashdel]

I own a Vitara Brezza, unfortunately i don't feel safe in this car even after spending a million rupee

I know all companies can make safer cars in India, however firstly Indian laws does not enforce automobile companies to include even basic stuff like airbags , ABS etc, so forgot about making safer cars. Secondly even if companies start making solid and International level cars for sale in India, most of us will not be ready to spend that extra thousand Rupees and will rather go for cheaper options.

I remember buying my Swift Vdi in 2011 when Zdi variant was not available. The only next option was Vdi with ABS. Difference was just 20K. I feel good every time i think about choosing a car with ABS.

[NiInJa]

Though my answer is both Yes and a No depending on the situation, I will vote for NO because I don't feel safe in my Honda Brio or my dad's Beat.

To start with, both of them are not equipped with airbags, nor do they have any NCAP rating (Indian model) and I am confident they would score a big zero if tested. I feel very safe driving the Fiat Linea in our family, its tough and despite having no airbags, its cabin will show better structural integrity in case of a crash. I have seen additional padding (so black colored material) on the crash bars on the front and the rear of the car when its bumpers were removed, so I think Fiat has not cut corners on improving the structural rigidity.

Also, I don't feel safe behind the wheel in India because I drive with a belief that the cars around me are not driven safely, and anything can go wrong for no particular fault of mine.

[saishivaj]

I drive a 23 year old Maruti 800, a 17 year old Maruti Zen, a 6 year old Maruti Alto K10 and a 5 year old Fortuner. While feeling safe or not is momentary for me, this is how I feel about each of my beloved cars.

Maruti 800: No power brakes. Other than seat belts for the front passengers, there is basically only some metal, glass and prayers protecting occupants. When I was younger, I would take this car to stupid speeds. I now understand why we men need to be 21 years old to be married. :P we are an immature bunch and take much more time to realize how stupid we can be.

Maruti Zen: This is my first love and I hate bitching about her. But she is utterly unsafe in the present day for the performance she offers. The car is 17 years old but a well driven Zen can still give some pretty stiff competition to most modern cars under 8-9 Lakhs WRT performance. It is only when you brake that you realise that she’s got average anchors and nothing else to save you from landing in a hospital.

Maruti Alto K10: Absolute pocket rocket. However, although the brakes are quite feelsome, they could lock up quite easily. I genuninely don’t miss ABS on my Zen and 800 whatsoever. But in the Alto, despite driving it for 5 years, I am just about learning to live without it.

Toyota fortuner: I have the one with the apparently improved brakes. Really, shame on toyota for giving this gem of an SUV such horrible anchors. They fade so quickly when you drive spiritedely. I admit that SUVs are not meant to be driven in that manner but the joy of a 2T SUV rolling through corners, clawing every inch of road that she can with her 4WD, tires screeching for grip, it’s all a nice feeling. But this lasts only until the first few corners. Post that, the brakes just aren’t up for it. And this I’ve seen in 3 different fortuners of my age. The current Gen is way better nevertheless.

Despite all this, I love my cars so much that I am not ashamed of admitting their faults. After all, nobody is perfect. :P

[dileepcm]

Voted yes. I drive a Volvo V40 Cross Country in The Netherlands. Needless to say, Volvos have some of the highest ranks when it comes to making safe cars. The one I drive comes with pretty much all sorts of safety kits [including a passenger airbag] except blind spot monitoring.

However, taking a step further, I guess the sense of really being safe depends on lot more factors such as existence of good road manners, proper rules being in place, drivers being ready to obey them, good quality roads, vehicles with proper fitness and so on. We have a long journey before such ideas become realities. I have to admit that I did not feel very safe last time when I was driving in Kerala. Buses and lorries were just making roads on their own all the time. I seriously hope we take quicker steps to make it more safe on the roads.

[Ameya_G]

SX4 VDI - doesn't have any safety kit whatsoever. I sometimes shudder what would happen in case of an accident. I consciously don't go above 75-80 kmph on any surface - however empty they might be.
Next car would be one with airbags and ABS for sure.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

I feel safe behind the wheels.

My beloved SX4 with the airbags, the ABS, the EBD, the 16"/205 tyres, the space available (around my knees, elbows, chest, shoulder) makes me feel safe and relaxed behind the wheels.

But the primary reason for my safety is my inticipative driving, alert and fresh state of body and mind, sane speeds (80 to 100 on highways) and well maintained car.

My SX4 is a sturdy car weighing 1250 kg, not a can of thin sheet metal. But it does not matter to me. At the time of collision, our body too is traveling at the speed of car, say 60 kmph. Forget how heavy is the sheet metal of the car and what happens to the car, our body is suddenly brought to rest with a jerk from this 60 kmph. This causes internal injuries. When our body hits the car after collision, this causes external injuries and fractures. Severity of all these injuries depends upon our speed at collision and not much on the thickness of sheet metal.

[asaraf]

Very safe in Skoda Rapid. In my recent highway trip got rear ended with truck which dragged the car forward to few meters. But I didn't feel uncomfortable any time and came out safe with my family. The front bumper guard of truck got entangled in trunk of my car. Trunk is deformed though locking and all wirings are in place. Hoping to get replacement in insurance.

[Fan@Automotive]

Voted 'yes'.

My drive is Skoda Rapid (MY 2015 - style plus variant) and I do not have any doubts on the build quality to classify it as a safe drive. One more reason is the ride and handling factor, which is good enough for the highways and the city commute, occasionally allowing me to enjoy the curvy ghats. At sensible speeds and with cautious driving it is safe.

The other commute of mine is the Honda City (MY 2014 - VX variant), mainly used to ferry the family in the city. Even though the build quality feels a little flimsy (only in comparison to the German cars), I trust Honda and hope it will not let me down, in the city landscape.

Well if we have to factor in the naive drivers on the roads, we can only consider tanks to be safe.

[thedragonreborn]

Safe in a Swift? Hahahahahahaha!!!!

Love my dear girl to bits, and she has faithfully kept me alive through 6 monsoons on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, and the uncharted territory that are the Shayadris. But she does make you clench the bum cheeks when the roads disappear and a larger car barrels towards you.

This is perhaps the only reason why I am now on the hunt for a 4X4 tank.

[reihem]

100% yes.

I drive a v40 most of the time. It was literally declared the safest car in the world ! Safe for me and safe for pedestrians. I hope I never have to find out just how safe.