Repeated Case of Zero NCAP Crash Test Rating of Indian Cars

[acechip]

Well, a Harley Davidson weighs around 200kg. If we drop 200 kg on roof of any car what do you expect ?

Dunno about a Harley dropping on a car, but how about a car dropping upside down 15 feet into a river bed?

A Fiat Avventura overturned and fell upside down into a dry river bed off a bridge, and the driver escaped unscathed.

Referencing the incident and pics.

Pics: Accidents in India - Page 1343 - Team-BHP

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attac...dia-palakkadaccidentcar.jpg.image.784.410.jpg

 

[1989rs500]

Huge accidents can be a hit or miss,
A 2011 Skoda Octavia had killed 4 violently in Kerala back in 2013, it was a headbon collision and speed was 140, even with airbags deployed all 4 died, Octavia is one of the safest car yet the result was very bad. The case shocked a lot of Skoda buyers but from what I understand it was driver error at first, the car first hit a mini lorry lost control and hit another big truck, and then a tree nearby took the resr occupants thats despite airbags getting deployed
So first thing is personal safety, a lot of them is human error, the crash tests are done at 40-70 kmph for a reason, safety systems can save people only at such conditions which is more than 80% of cases,

 

[rselva]

Dunno about a Harley dropping on a car, but how about a car dropping upside down 15 feet into a river bed?

A Fiat Avventura overturned and fell upside down into a dry river bed off a bridge, and the driver escaped unscathed.

Referencing the incident and pics.

Pics: Accidents in India - Page 1343 - Team-BHP

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attac...dia-palakkadaccidentcar.jpg.image.784.410.jpg

The roof sure is crushed. Since there is no view of the driver side, it is difficult to judge how much cave in happened on that side, but it seems by providence the Fiat fell on rocks in such a way that there was enough gap for the driver to survive. May be the airbags too helped.

 

[acechip]

I agree with the fact that huge accidents are a hit-or-miss in terms of survivability, especially when the cause originates from the car that actually was damaged the most. Thats why devices like airbags are called supplemental restraint systems, not primary restraint. The biggest restraint should the seat belt, and equally, the mind-body control on the right foot.

 

[ggnIT]

Come across this quite interesting article on 'Rushlane', Maruti baleno's collision with VW Jetta
(this may not exactly fit into this thread but didn't find any other related thread so posted here):

https://www.rushlane.com/maruti-baleno-volkswagen-jetta-accident-12201855.html

 

[mayankdixit]

That is amusing,but not at all surprising,given the tinny build of baleno.I stopped the purchase of baleno by my sis in law,when I saw what maruti has made,just to get more mileage (av.per km.)from this and ciaz.Baleno and ciaz always end up badly and crumpled, in all of the accident pic I have seen till date.Sometimes I feel sorry for the ill informed owners.I was no better,few years back,and now have 2 cars from maruti stable,but today I would not have bought them,now that I am more aware than the ordinary.

 

[1989rs500]

There is no point,
Maruti has made history this month by selling around 125k cars in a single month,
Out of which around 60k are unsafe death machines, even more worse,out of the 60k tin cans more than 18k cars dont evn have airbags,abs,ebd..

 

[adivik]

I somehow feel Maruti had made a strategic secession around 2009. The first Baleno, the First Generation Swift released in 2004, the SX4 had decent portection and Weight. Sure the Maruti 800 was lightweight but structure was well built.

But after 2010, apart from Ertiga, Brezza most of thier offerings especially Petrol versions are getting lightweight and VFM priced also. There is no mention of High strength steel, safety cages in most of their models. This coupled with CEO Bhargava stating safety is not important to Indians.

Lets hope all cars sold in India get tested for Frontal, side and rear impact crash tests, so we know what we are buying.

 

[vikyjoshi]

Lets hope all cars sold in India get tested for Frontal, side and rear impact crash tests, so we know what we are buying.

Well I am sure Maruti will be arm twisting the indian CAP authority and coming with clauses which will make maruti cars 3-4 stars as in current make. Provide airbags and get 4 stars.
I guess the ban of diesel cars over 2000CC where maruti is not present, there must be some influence from maruti, done to increase the sale of their less powerful cars. Clearly the compact SUV segment has gained from the ban. Breeza is doing great and is offered only in diesel.

The Delhi and Kerala ban has impactrd general buyer and are shying away from diesel car altogether. Again a gain for maruti.

I might be completely off tangent but can help thinking in this direction.

 

[TSIVipul]

Well, a lot matters on the cars' structural rigidity along with presence of ABS and airbags. I have seen many cases of accidents but never in life seen a Maruti behave this way in a crash. This is how a safe car is supposed to behave under a crash; the car in question is a Volkswagen Polo:

This car went through a major head on collision, the damage on right hand side is even more and really horrifying to look at.


Now look at the interior. Airbags popped open to protect the occupants who came out perfectly fine, only minor cracks on the windscreen and cabin is perfectly intact except the steering column which is designed to collapse any ways.


The occupants of the Polo were completely safe and have decided to buy VW itself as their next car as this one is a total loss in any case.

 

[1989rs500]

Again same scenario
This time it was car vs tree, and see how the cabin looks like and passengers walked away with 0 issues, again proving that light extrerior body dosent essentially mean weak strength, its the chassis and the crumble zones thatdo the safety works,
Ford Aspire : Official Review - Page 63 - Team-BHP

 

[TSIVipul]

^^The Polo one is a lot lot more serious sir, check thoroughly and you can find out where the differences lie. I am particularly impressed looking at this one because after such an extensive damage (It was a major hit as per occupants and even the engine is also hit hard, not just crumple zones) the cabin is still intact and occupants came out on themselves by opening the passenger side door.

 

[1989rs500]

^^The Polo one is a lot lot more serious sir, check thoroughly and you can find out where the differences lie. I am particularly impressed looking at this one because after such an extensive damage (It was a major hit as per occupants and even the engine is also hit hard, not just crumple zones) the cabin is still intact and occupants came out on themselves by opening the passenger side door.

Sure man, I agree even the new Figo will hold well with such an impact,
See I agree Polo is better in built but my point is not just solid built,its the strong engineering gone into chassis design,
After the crash both Polo and new Figo had their doors still in alignment,shows the chassis has done really well and kept all weld points intact, in case of Polo its laser welded so one cant find welding points, thats one step higher than what Figo does with,
Still I just posted that page to show the strength of chassis of a light car,
I do agree Polo is safer than Figo though,
I just wish all small cars adopted this safety tech that Ford atleast is taking,rather than compromisong on that and adding more gimmicks,
VAG cars are extremely safe machines,so are Fiats and Fords,but sales wise they struggle the most,
Shows how much Indian population is concerned about their own and their kins and even others safety.

 

[mayankdixit]

I am eagerly waiting for BNCAP to start implementation in 2017.Hope things improve from there.

 

[TSIVipul]

I am eagerly waiting for BNCAP to start implementation in 2017.Hope things improve from there.

Don't worry, they will make sure that every Maruti car passes it with at least 4 stars if equipped with airbags. I am expecting at max 33% as strict norms as Latin NCAP is. Maybe test speed itself will be 30-40 kph only.