[atnyia]

Just saying, does the government need to bring the rule so that our car manufacturers can start providing an actual bumper member or a manual lock override from inside the car?

How about government make driving license difficult to obtain with a proper videographed driving test? This is the biggest cause of deaths on our roads.

Not saying that we shouldn't have six airbags in the cars but how about prioritising fixing the more basic things. Alas, that doesn't generate the PR, both for manufacturers and the political leaders.

[karthis91]

Originally Posted by KPR

I will agree with Mr. Bhargava. Many Indian families still travel in Splendors and Activas. They aspire to own atleast an Alto or Wagon R one day and for them that 0 star car is still safer than a two wheeler. Already Alto is costing close to 5 Lakhs on road today and a safe Tiago costs 7 Lakhs on road. Extra safety means they have to shell out few more lakhs. So buying a car is only going to get delayed for those aspirational class of people.

Agreed. Many forget this class of people when thinking about safeties. Many move from Two Wheelers to Cars, because they feel covered inside a box and safe from any falls. A zero rated car is better than a two wheeler, especially inside a city. By making cars more and more expensive, we are taking it away from those set of people. Let us remember that this is the prime reason why Mr. Ratan Tata wanted to manufacture Nano in the first place.

Certain mandates like ABS are welcome, while some like the 6 airbags are an overkill. Let the government educate people to buy safer products. As many have mentioned, government has even more bigger role to play in safe and proper road construction. That can reduce accidents in the first place.

[Rahul_]

Originally Posted by karthis91

Agreed. Many forget this class of people when thinking about safeties. Many move from Two Wheelers to Cars, because they feel covered inside a box and safe from any falls. A zero rated car is better than a two wheeler, especially inside a city. By making cars more and more expensive, we are taking it away from those set of people. Let us remember that this is the prime reason why Mr. Ratan Tata wanted to manufacture Nano in the first place.

Certain mandates like ABS are welcome, while some like the 6 airbags are an overkill. Let the government educate people to buy safer products. As many have mentioned, government has even more bigger role to play in safe and proper road construction. That can reduce accidents in the first place.

The problem is once the car is made available, say without the said safety features, there is nothing preventing them to take it on the highways. Once on the highway these cars can be extremely fatal if involved in an accident.

Between the time Mr Ratan Tata envisioned Nano for India and now the average road speeds on the highways have gone up significantly.

Also, there are discussions on raising speed limits on some of the roads where it might be possible, if the infrastructure is evolving so should the policies to make them safe.

[srini4344]

Point to be noted Maruti is planning to take a stand that too at first, Waiting for news from other OEM's.

It is also to be noted is additional Airbag will not eat away all the cost.However delta cost will be charged to customers with hefty profit.

Seems something tricky we need to wait and watch.

[Sen]

My two cents to the pile:

If only it mattered how many airbags a car has. Even with 2/4 airbags, the safety aspect of a car is actually achieved in tandem with the entire safety offering on a variant, like ESP and other such lifesaving features, as a whole.

Bottomline is it doesn't add as much as a stable body frame, rollover mitigation, ESP, etc.

With the government already taxing us to the moon and back on each car, taxing fuel to death, and generally being one of the most unfriendly markets in terms of the taxes needed to buy one, sub 4 meter rule taxation, engine size related taxation, tax this tax that.

GoI please. Look at your country's state, and realize cars are no longer a luxury for our population.

The joke from Maruti in terms of threatening the government aside (ha! I'd love to see maruti willingly relinquish their stranglehold in that segment!), we do need cheaper cars.

[MihirB]

Well said friend. I was once pushing a friend to buy a higher trim if car so his wife sitting next to him could also have an airbag. But instead he preferred to buy the lower trip and go for seat covers.

Originally Posted by karthikrao23

It can be blamed on the Indian mindset. They don’t want safety, but only check features like sunroof etc. We deserve substandard products only.

[GeeTee TSI]

I feel (hope, rather) that we are on the cusp of change to a mature market from one which effectively was born only in the nineties; a market which took whatever form the incumbents shaped it, blissfully ignorant of global developments and standards. If we were two decades lagging behind global markets, now perhaps the chasm has narrowed to less than 5 years.

The government is tightening the screws around emissions and safety, neither of which matter to the OEMs or the customers. Even in the US, safety was mandated by the governing bodies and grudgingly followed by OEMs back in the day. Timely intervention is required when market forces do not naturally take the desired direction and especially if the market leader is the biggest culprit.

[xway]

Cant blame Maruti or others in the industry.

There is a reason why big players like Ford, Fiat, GM exited the indian automobile market.
New are afraid to set foot.

The biggest reason is shocking and if known makes buying car in India a mad insane decision.

Do you know the total taxes on cars ?

28% GST
22% Cess (was supposed to be temporary but is not even being considered to remove, is 15% in mid size cars,sedans though)
18% Registration (most states, some are less for smaller cars though)
5% Insurance (could be lesser in some cases, but zero dep can be expensive too)
----
73% - Thats a whopping 73% of taxes and fees on buying a car.

No doubt Toyota said that they make as less as 40K on a car whereas Govt gets 7lacs or more as guaranteed taxes. For Maruti the number can be a bare minimum.

We scream when they remove a Nut/bolt or skimp on painting door handles or even dont give a light or a small mirror, whereas they are just trying to fit in the cost somehow.

This all after paying 33% in taxes and surcharges etc. Not to mention almost 200% taxes on fuel (has come down to 140% now after reductions recently), still are exorbitant to say the least.

[Guite]

Intent is good but six airbags is not going to make an inherently unsafe body shell and chassis any much safer. I think the government should mandate mandatory crash test certification for all new cars. It should then run publicity campaigns on car and road safety.

[Aritra]

While the intent of the administration is good here, I feel it is not a holistic approach towards making roads safer. Along with safer vehicles, we also need infrastructure which enhances the safety of road travel (street lighting, street condition, signaling system, controlling jaywalkers on highways, proper test before issuing driver's license etc.).

The safety equipment like Airbags do not come cheap (as of now), but will mass adoption, the manufacturers will also be able to leverage the economies of scale bringing cost down. What needs to be focused more is having a more robust bodyshell / chassis of vehicles and no 'engineering' in Indian products compared global products that compromise the strength and rigidity of the structure should be tolerated.

[karthis91]

Originally Posted by Rahul_

The problem is once the car is made available, say without the said safety features, there is nothing preventing them to take it on the highways. Once on the highway these cars can be extremely fatal if involved in an accident.

Between the time Mr Ratan Tata envisioned Nano for India and now the average road speeds on the highways have gone up significantly.

Also, there are discussions on raising speed limits on some of the roads where it might be possible, if the infrastructure is evolving so should the policies to make them safe.

While I agree with your points, I maintain my stand that 6 airbags is too much of an interference. As many have pointed out, it is not the only factor that boosts safety. Cars have become soft target.

Are cars the only vehicles plying on highways? Everyday we see so many accidents of buses, vans, etc. What is the safety standard that Government maintains for these vehicles. I haven't come across any. What about the trucks that are parked hazardously? There are so many things that the Government has to work upon rather than mandating 6 airbags. If as a consumer I feel, 6 airbags will help me, I will make that choice.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by BHPjunkie

Well this is just stupidity by the government. By just making 6 airbags mandatory you don't expect safer roads. The entire safety issue is right down to handing over a drivers license to the infrastructure of roads.

In India you can get a drivers license without even visiting an RTO. What does the government do to ensure who they are handing over a driver's license is fit to drive? I have a friend in Dubai who is giving his fourth driving test to get a license.

Second, the infrastructure. In Mumbai, for example, U-turns are taken from the right most lane which is suppose to be the fast lane. Worst is you are getting on to the other side of the road in the fastest lane. The basic infrastructure of properly laid road is missing. I have driven extensively in Europe and once in USA. They way the road are designed in itself ensures lesser accidents. They have separate lanes for turns and U-turns. While joining a motorway there is a good 200-300 meter stretch before you merge with the traffic. Has anyone gone mid-way on to the Mumbai - Pune expressway, it spells DISASTER!

Thirdly, the government run buses, taxis and 3 wheelers. These guys think they own the roads. They are downright rash and observe no traffic discipline whatsoever.

So Mr. Gadkari, if you really want safer roads, stop going after manufacturers, instead improve your own country's infrastructure first.

You stole my words - the government makes everyone else responsible for safety except themselves and the administration.

I don't have much else to add but the state of public transport, roads, tolls, taxes all put together is making the low income groups go back to two wheelers as primary means of transport.

No one takes educating kids from preprimary on safety aspects seriously. If we want things to change, start with school going kids and then hopefully the next generation may behave differently that us.

The maid coming to our place has lost 2 relatives going by motorcycle to their village a few months ago. The guy sold his car that he also used for Ola. A shop keeper and his family (wife+2kids) in my vicinity lost their lives a few weeks ago.

Money isn't easy to come by for low income groups. Not everyone has a safety net. Gig economy is suffering. I don't think the intent is wrong, but the context of when it is happening, what impact it has on larger population and who do you make responsible for fixing a systemic issue is important.

[bravo82in]

Don’t understand the argument, a zero rated car is better than a two wheeler. Can’t compared chalk and cheese. Is alto a few thousands Rs away from Splendor? One who can afford a Alto can afford a safer Alto too. It’s best not to force all safety features in small cars, but rather NCAP ratings of these cars to be displayed along with Make model and variant, some thing like the BEE rating.



Let the customer make an informed choice, what he is purchasing. Let the customer decide if he want a 5 star Ac or a 2 star AC or refrigerator. It’s for the customer to make a choice based on his needs what car safety rating he wants or he can afford.

[fawad0222]

Hello Everyone,

My two cents on the topic are that the government should decide on certain minimum safety standards and these should include factors affecting the safety of the co-motorists along with the passengers themselves. Beyond them it is the market which shall decide everything else. Personally speaking, I feel two airbags should be made mandatory and there should be an option at the top with the maximum safety features available, for those who can afford them.
I agree that to reduce the accidents, changes in the car are only one aspect of the full equation and other issues like infrastructure, better regulations and their effective enforcement, public awareness are very important variables too.

regards

[ASP_73]

Originally Posted by AJ56

The gov. shouldn’t be in the business of mandating anything safety related in cars, let the free market decide what safety features it is willing to pay for and not pay for, forcing people of limited financial means to buy safer cars by arbitrarily raising the cost of production is not in line with a free market society.

We are seeing this in EV 2 wheelers where mandatory safety standards for battery are missing and how the poor EV owners lost lives due to battery fires.