[lordrayden]

It's well known that we Indians (on average) don't prioritize safety as much as those in the US, Europe, Australia, etc. I have heard and read many varying reasons for it and have listed them down (in no particular order) as options in the poll. What do you think is the most COMMON reason(s) why we as a PEOPLE don't prioritize vehicle safety? Please do contribute to the poll and post if you have any thoughts.

I want to stress that the poll is not about YOUR personal views on vehicle safety, but what you think are the most COMMON views of our country as a whole. This would be the opinion you have formed about the average Indian's views by talking to people, reading articles, watching videos, etc. For example, someone who has a budget of 5 lakhs and has to buy a new car can't afford a 5-star car even if they wanted one. But that person could still have the opinion that we Indians don't prioritize safety because of lack of awareness.

Also wanted to point out the obvious that there ARE a lot of people who do prioritize safety, more so on Team-BHP than in the general population, so not taking anything away from them. And thanks to Tata and Mahindra, awareness about safety is on the rise in the last decade. But on average, in India we still don't prioritize vehicle safety.

[GTO]

Awareness is the main reason. Things are improving due to the public GNCAP results, Tata / Mahindra's track record with 5-star safety cars, an increasing number of articles & discussions around safety, government initiatives etc.

But overall awareness levels are still low and the general apathy toward safety sucks.

Hence, it is the government's job to push safety. Similar to how they pushed for ABS + Airbags + parking sensors + speed warning chimes, now the government needs to make ESP mandatory (as it is in many countries worldwide), and concurrently, cars with safe structures.

Only the government can force this change. Car manufacturers will be happy to sell unsafe cars as long as they can, and take advantage of this situation.

Originally Posted by lordrayden

For example, someone who has a budget of 5 lakhs and has to buy a new car can't afford a 5-star car even if they wanted one.

Going the pre-worshipped route is the only way to get a safe car for 5 lakhs. Example, a used VW Polo.

[SS-Traveller]

The biggest ACTIVE safety feature of any car is the nut behind the wheel - the driver! Till the time that one can get one's driving license effortlessly and as a matter of right, India's road safety record will never improve. Rigorous training and impartial road testing by skilled examiners for new applicants, with existing DL-holding traffic rule violators being made to undergo such training and testing as well, is the only way to bring down road accident death rates. I'm certain this proposal would be unpalatable to the majority, but airbags don't save lives when the driver doesn't know how to.

Edit: Mods, kindly add a poll option: "It's so easy to get a DL without learning to drive safely".

[deathwalkr]

Simple. We don't hold much value to life and have a nothing will happen to me attitude.

See it in the helmetless rider, red light jumper, no seat belt wearer, hanging from footboard of bus/train, journeying on top of bus/train, overloading beyond seat capacities, one way ignorer, merging onto main road without looking, no harness while doing construction work.

It's everywhere, just that we have all gotten so used to these things that we hardly notice it as strange.

Education hardly matters. People in luxury cars buy seat belt buckle clips just to bypass the warning sound!

Wisdom hardly matters. Cyrus was a businessman who helmed one of the biggest business houses here, yet he did not choose to wear a seat belt and did not ask the person driving the car to go slow. (assumption).

When the transport commissioner of the state tried to enforce rear seat belts, transport minister vetoed it and transferred him to some random department. His logic? Not all cars have rear seat belts!

But slowly, with state enforcing things, we see many with helmets on and front seaters with belts on. Now cops are enforcing helmets for pillion riders as well. And looks like rear seat belts will also be made mandatory.

So, maybe a little hope?

That said, we need traffic safety lessons in school.

[Mustang_Boss]

India is a poor country where the fuel prices are marked up very high when compared to other Asean countries.

How could the common man afford such expensive fuel when the earning power & Per capita income is low?

Coming to the other reasons:
- Are our roads good enough?
- Whats our median speed when compared to the other western countries?

Accidents can happen to anyone and there is no guarantee that a 5 star rated car is going to save you, but your odds of survival just go up. It is not worth the cost i think.

To be honest, Just adding 5/6 airbags to a tin can is not going to save any additional lives. Mandate the minimum weight of the car to be 900+KGS for sub 4 Mtrs and 1200KG for >4 Meters vehicles. This should help a lot.

What are the tax rates on the automobiles sold? Does the manufacturer has any benefit to invest in R&D? The Only R&D i see is to cut weight and increase mileage, so they can sell more.

Automotive Industry is the heart of the manufacturing industry of India. The government cannot be too strict, because, the sales will fall drastically if they try to mandate anything, hence such negligence.

In short, If the government cuts the GST + Cess levied + mandating few weight mandates on cars, this problem will be addressed for ever. if not, we are going to see more and more lighter Tin Cans with 12 airbags on the road.

[Axe77]

I think more than awareness its our general lack of civic sense, care a damn attitude to rules and regulations (whether its the ability to stand in queues, stop at a red light, wear a helmet, spitting and littering in public).

Its also a relative lack of empathy towards others. We tend to look at immediate personal comfort and convenience over all else. So we'd rather be the first one crossing a point rather than let a pedestrian cross the road for instance.

So many cases in point:
- Why does a motorist have to be "told" that wearing a helmet is safe for him. Holds true even for people who've had a fall - yet they will continue as before.
- The guy who doesn't stop at a red light. He knows breaking it is wrong. Possibly also that breaking it is dangerous to himself and others.
- Trying to beat a pedestrian / other motorist and cut their path to be "first". That's why our driving is stressful. Its not just the traffic volume. Its because everyone is jostling with you in that heavy traffic.
- Why do even educated people have to be told to wear a seatbelt. You carefully assessed all the features in the car (including all the seatbelts); perhaps even judged it on number of airbags and safety ratings etc. Why not wear that seatbelt then.

The list can go on.

[Rohan265]

Originally Posted by lordrayden

I want to stress that the poll is not about YOUR personal views on vehicle safety, but what you think are the most COMMON views of our country as a whole. But on average, in India we still don't prioritize vehicle safety.

Thank you for making this a multiple-choice poll. Chose all of them as I have heard all these reasons (and many more) during my decade-long stint in the field of road safety.

I notice that there is no intrinsic motivation toward road safety. Practices such belt/helmet usage, following speeding limits, not jumping a signal, etc. are not followed because we fear our own safety. But, because we risk a monetary fine. Watching leaders/celebrities themselves not following road safety rules and getting away with it doesn't help either.

This results in a lax attitude towards road safety practices. After the Mistry case, I have come across many memes/WA forwards mocking safety messages on importance of belt usage.
Unsafe practices will continue until an intrinsic need is created. The only way around this is through awareness drives, especially for children.

The mental thought process needs to be changed from "not following safety rules = fine" to "not following safety rules = injury/death". COVID was a good example of this. Road crashes have killed more people than COVID. However, it was common to see someone wearing a mask but not wearing a helmet while riding.

[antz.bin]

What is common between
1. Gopinath Munde
2. Cyrus Mistry
3. Jaspal Bhatti
4. Princess Diana

All of them were not wearing seat belt while sitting in the rear seat of their last car ride.

Were you?

The above is my contribution to WhatsApp University

Short, sweet, and hard hitting (according to me, please suggest improvements).

[dexter78]

Sorry to say this but it stems from population or overpopulation, and its cascading consequences of just survival & quality of life we end up with.
Its not the first time something like this has happened and it surely will not be the last time. Here in NCR you will find 100’s of examples of un marked barriers that cause monthly/ weekly incidents but nothing is done to improve nor any lessons learned. When anything is available in abundance its value comes down, so is the case with human life.

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by dexter78

Sorry to say this but it stems from population or overpopulation

Respectfully disagree. It has everything to do with lack of safety education. I can give my own before and after example.

This is circa 2000-2008. I was like an average joe teenager before that. Used to ride my bicycle with no hands for 3-4 km at a stretch. Was given my 1st hand me down Kinetic Honda to ride around. NEVER wore a helmet even though my parents told me to. I got my 1st commuter motorcycle in 2001 (Caliber 115) when I was in 11th. The helmet was promptly parked on the RVMs to carefully hold the throttle so that I can ride the bike with no hands. Popped wheelies at will with no regard to safety. Had multiple accidents, but refused to learn. I was a disaster. I was 90% of India.

In 2009, I was researching a new bike and was exposed to XBHP. XBHP taught me about the importance of safety, about safety equipment, safe riding practices. This was information I should have received when I was learning to ride the bike. When I was taking my driving test. But learned only 6-7 years after. That too, accidentally. Such an impact this accidental discovery made on my mind that on the day my Pulsar 220 was delivered, instead of being present at the PDI, I was away from the showroom, purchasing a new helmet. Ever since that day, nobody could make me ride without a helmet on. If the engine was on, you could rest assured, the Helmet was on as well. Now, I wear a helmet even if I ride a bicycle. The only difference was the education. And it was not just me there are 100s I know who are like me and thousands who have not made this accidental discovery yet.

All this while, I would meticulously wear the seatbelt. Always (in the front seat since no seatbelts in the Maruti at the back). But never the helmet (prior to the Pulsar).

The onus is on the govt. and the insurance companies (who foot the bill for this madness) to ensure that there is education and then there is enforcement. Without this education, safety practices will only be to avoid getting fined, and not for staying safe. When this change happens, that is when we will have safety on the road for everyone.

[GeneralJazz]

Originally Posted by Axe77

I think more than awareness its our general lack of civic sense, care a damn attitude to rules and regulations (whether its the ability to stand in queues, stop at a red light, wear a helmet, spitting and littering in public).

I'd like to add arrogance to this list!

Back when I was in school (11th or 12th), I used to go to a tuition centre in town. Once of the guys there used to ride his bike to the class (underage driving lol!). He was a really rash rider, overtaking on blind turns, wrong side, squeezing in between cars etc.. I once made the mistake of asking him to drop me at the bus stand, nearly ended up with soiled underpants! While getting down at the stand, I asked him this:

Me: Dude, ride carefully. What if someone hits you?
Him: "Enna avan vivaram ariyum. Pinne avan vandi orikkalum edkula!" " Then he will know who I am, he'll never drive a car again".
Me: Yeah sure people may gang up on the car driver and bash him up, but what good is that to you, if you end up with broken bones?
Him: *shrugs* *leaves me in a cloud of smoke*

[alpha1]

Barring the adolescence (where one naturally feels thrilled to indulge in risky behavior), all the other ages people will take care of their health and lives.

First I wish to make clear that safety comes with prices. And increasing safety means reduced risk of losing life/limb and comes with increasing cost.
Therefore there is a natural progression from two wheeler to two wheeler with safety gear to four wheeler to four wheeler with safety gear.
You may have increasing layers of safety even within safety gear: seat belts, airbags, electronic controls, roll cage, helmet, body suit etc.
However, each individual looks at his assessment of safety and the means of expending the respective amount.


So what is left is awareness angle. Most of the people are not much aware about the risks common stuff at their house pose. How many people know the possibilities and danger potential of LPG cylinder or fuel line catching fire? How many people know about the risks of 220V electricity that is carried via exposed wires to their appliances?

How many people can fathom the injury risks their tools and equipment carry in case of mishap (say slipping while holding a tool in certain way). How many people while walking into a building take care to look above and remind themselves that something may fall from the floors above.

Our driving license dispensing mechanism still leaves a lot to be desired. However I sincerely wish that the least that could be done is to show the videos of real and simulated accidents and have a Q&A on what caused the accident and how it could've been avoided at the final stage of clearing the Driving license. That will make the future drivers aware of the dangers present on the roads.

[Malyaj]

For a long time cars didn't even have seat belts.
Then came seat belts. Then air bags. Then ABS
Now we have a whole buffet of safety features from ESP, Traction control and what not.

At what point do we say we have reached optimum safety? At what point does a buyer claim that they have bought a safe car? Are Airbags and ABS enough. Or should it have ESP and TC too?

For someone moving from a 2 wheeler to a 4 wheeler, there is already a significant jump in safety. If I am not mistaken, dual airbags and ABS are mandatory now? So I don't really agree that we don't prioritize safety. Of course there is the question of budget and you can't keep stretching it to include every feature being offered by OEMs.

The feature distribution among variants is disappointing to say the least, across OEMs. Many important features are being offered only in the top variant. IMHO all the safety features should start from the base variant itself and the higher variants should have the gizmos like 10 inch touchscreen, ACC, telematics etc.

More important than safe cars is complete revamp of the process of issuing driving licenses. Right now you can get a DL if you can demonstrate you can drive for 10 metres. Sometimes not even that. Most drivers will fail like a kindergarten kid answering calculus questions if they are presented with 20 highway signs and their meanings.

[Jeroen]

The poll results appear to be even more enlightening, or perhaps I should say, frightening, than the various posts.

By the way, the percentages don’t appear to be correct. When you add them up it is way above 100% or am I missing something?

Jeroen

[Malyaj]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

By the way, the percentages don’t appear to be correct. When you add them up it is way above 100% or am I missing something?

This will happen when respondents can choose multiple answers.