Car Bursts Into Flames on Delhi Road (16 Jun 2011)

[racerdabba]

you want thousands of features (door get locked after certain speed.. blah blah.. , Now even high end cars are coming with auto closing sunroof/ windows in the event of collisions) Do you think all of this possible with mech lever? even with mech lever, the plastic part will melt and jam it... It is an unfortunate truth of modern car, a thousand no of chips monitoring everything, and shutting off the battery can lead to lot of disturbance.
Actually mech window roller is also something, that could help, but asking for that...

I understand all of that. And if the post was directed toward me, im one of those guys who prefers Manual steering to power, manual shifter to auto and carb to Fi.

But most people don't. All im saying is don't remove the lock lever from the door completely. Add a switch to lock/unlock, but let the lever remain. In that case, people can at least escape in emergencies. And however automated things become, after all its a mechanical lock locking the doors.

And in any case, fire cannot melt and jam all four doors at the same time. And if the heat is so intense that it has, you can be pretty sure anybody isnt alive inside.

 

[S Class]

What I see is here is not just issue with the car, but more importantly this happened in one of the most high security areas in New Delhi, capital of India. If for 20 mins, one can't get any help in the capital city, what would the situation have been in case of tier2/tier3 cities or even worse on highway ?
It was really shameful to know those fire extinguishers were not working. Truly, Incredible India.

 

[smooth rider]

What I see is here is not just issue with the car, but more importantly this happened in one of the most high security areas in New Delhi, capital of India. If for 20 mins, one can't get any help in the capital city, what would the situation have been in case of tier2/tier3 cities or even worse on highway ?
It was really shameful to know those fire extinguishers were not working. Truly, Incredible India. is making our country rot

its going to be the same what ever party is in power. no one does his job in the true sense. no decisions are taken in time,no one is accountable for his deeds, any one can break the law and get away. the chinese have erected tents in indian territory in ladakh, prime minister says its a small issue.it was the same during nehru's time when china built roads in aksai chin initialy and the govt didn't mind saying indi - chini bhai bhai. then they invaded india and gave our army a good thrashing. if india had responded strongly initialy we could have stopped the chinese. we don't have a strong leader nor a strong govt. our fate.

 

[VivekRj.Dieselhead]

That is sad to hear these kind of incidents in these kind of hi-tech cars but, i think lock should be applicable to the outside levers only and inside car levers should always work irrespective of the situation. This seems a proper sol. for situations like car catching fire and accidents. I am not favoring being an owner but my fiat's door levers always work even if doors are locked. And these things should be adopted by other manufacturers or should be made mandatory by govt. for every automobile manufacturer.

 

[alexddas]

Guys,there are pads under the hood in our generation cars this protects the paint of the hood from the engine heat and decreases the engine sound,that is what all know of this protective pad,
But it has an another role too, it prevents the battery terminals to touch the metal hood preventing a shot circuit, that may burn the paint on the hood may result to a big flame.
There are protective covers over the terminals but some guys fail to replace these covers on battery replacement.
And there are people who replace a lesser priced battery with a different dimension than the original one which do not suit the battery holder resulting to an inch height difference,this inch leaves a chance for the battery terminal to touch the metal hood.
So make sure next time you open the hood, check the hood pad and terminal protectors are intact.

Never ignore a petrol smell in your car,
There are chances of a damage on the petrol tube resulting a small leakage while the engine is running and as we all know the hot engine will ignite the petrol with no time.

These are the two things from my side that we are to be aware of to prevent our car on fire.

 

[sukanta]

I understand all of that. And if the post was directed toward me, im one of those guys who prefers Manual steering to power, manual shifter to auto and carb to Fi.

But most people don't. All im saying is don't remove the lock lever from the door completely. Add a switch to lock/unlock, but let the lever remain. In that case, people can at least escape in emergencies. And however automated things become, after all its a mechanical lock locking the doors.

And in any case, fire cannot melt and jam all four doors at the same time. And if the heat is so intense that it has, you can be pretty sure anybody isnt alive inside.

Sorry racer, the post wan't directed to you, I have just quoted you as a reference,
There might be some technical/ design problem creating a power window with mech lever/ or a high tech door with mech lever, But I actually get your idea. There should be some manual override to the electrical system, atleast for doors. (may be a aircraft style one time use lever, which can broke open the door from both hinge, and let the door fall)

 

[manojodungat]

Pathetic, to say the least,the infrastructure [read functional]available in our country.
At the same time its worth having a safety kit with at least

• a Fire Extinguisher
• a Life hammer and
• a seat belt cutter

safely secured under the Driver seat or other easily accessible location in your Car.

 

[VivekRj.Dieselhead]

[*]a Life hammer and
[*]a seat belt cutter

Now a days many stylish combination tools are available in market, which can make these 2 a single tool.