Airbag - A luxury or safety feature?

Rajiv,

To answer your question about ABS - it makes a massive difference if you drive on snow. If you brake normally as you do in India - on snow which is mixed with salt to aid melting (i've been stupid enough to), the car will spin - sometimes a full 360 degrees. So the idea is to pump your brake a few times before you actually do brake. ABS replicates the pumping action at a fairly fast clip and prevents the car from spinning by not allowing the brakes to lock. This helps on water too, but the skidding is quite minimal compared to the spinning on snow.

As far as airbags go - I had a '99 hyundai accent abroad for a while which did not have A/C, no power steering, no central locking, no power windows. It did have a rear defogger, it did have a rear wiper and it did have two airbags.A clearly differentiation between safety and luxury features.  If airbags are made the norm - the economies of scale would work toward bringing down the cost of airbags.

What am I gonna do with an on-board computer? Tell my mom : "Hey mom, my car gave me an average of 15 kms to the liter today when the temperature outside was 27 C." What a useless feature to tie in with an air-bag which can save a life.

Thanks Jvalant, for the info on ABS, So its very Important for hills in India, Generally in plains.. its good but den if its reduced the braking distance den Its more important den Airbags, coz it reduced the chances of Accidents.

I am fully agree with you Ban, Airbags here r sort of luxury feature but its d cost which makes it a luxury feature, affordability point. But still I feel, one who travels alot on highways... and He can afford den why not? Mainly for highway driving, coz chances of major accidents r less in cities, specially old indian cities, narrow roads, heavy traffic, I am from lucknow, n if you'll come here you will see, how bad the traffic is... narrow roads, Only 40' wide main roads,where you are getting scratches on regular basis. So, Instead of providing airbags, like Ban mentioned ... Implementing Crash tests in the system should be a good idea and surely if a car fails to the test ...car should be banned.

One more point, Dual Airbags for Driver & Co-driver, well in few cars you will get this safety feature.... but Mostly luxury cars owners use Driver, so its a safety for driver only? Wat if someone hits from d Side? Airbag will save life? And also, Maintenance n regular check up or airbags system, coz I've seen at net, in so many cases ... someone had accident and somehow Airbags not deployed... n even some casualities because of deplpoyment of Airbags.

What is most important, Safety belts.. but mostly we use Seat belts to avoid penalty, even I was not using until couple of months back when a Traffic Police guy stopped me. And since den I am using belt but frankly speaking ..to avoid penalty... coz who thinks about the accident... well I am a good driver ...kahan accident marunga..... this is general thinking... but see Sanjeev had an accident last month.

@Bhushan, well somebody told me ... n just because it was about Airbags, well I never enquired ... I dont know whether they covered it under claim or not.... but yes if its under cover, ... 50%? And cost of airbags,.. 35k to 70k.... Like I mentioned earliar.. see d pics of our fiesta.... after accident.... Airbags hote definitely deploy ho gaye hote...... That additional safety beam worked fine.. also I guess Fiesta is good as far as Crash safety is concern, though I dont know the Crash Safety rating of Fiesta.... You know dat beam was totally bend towards rite side.. service guy showed me .. he told me Impact bahut tha accident ka... definitely Tavera is not a small car. But see, we paid around 13k only .. coz model was Exi (Base)!

People dont change when you tell them that there is a Better option... They change when they realise that there is No Other Option..

The manufactures also have to play their part, most of the small cars dont have an option for fitting airbags.Another thing would be insurance..which has to be revamped.In the west a car with airbags.ABS will have to pay less insurance premium.That should be the case here.Legislation should be put in place.
May i point out the headlight levelling device which was made mandatory, how many would have opted for it if it was an option.It was made mandatory and that was it.That should be the case with airbags.



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Rajiv,

Cost air-bag 45-70 k - well, I'd be alive without 70k then dead with 70k.

TATA might re write the rule boo about cost of airbags as they launch the same with the Nano!!



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I would second Jvalant and Binoy regarding cost of airbags. They are costlier till the moment they are exclusive. Once they are the ones that go in every Indian car, they won't be costly anymore. And there is no doubt that we need them in every car. No car should be driven without airbags.

Guys, I can't really predict where the thread is heading. But all I can say is with respect to the Indian market and the safety measures taken by the Indian Government, airbags are not really a compulsion. Hence, due to neck cut competition, the manufacturers use this loophole to increase their sales. This being the only reason why airbags aren't complusory. Truely speaking, airbag isn't a luxury, its a necessity. Whether you drive in city or highway, airbags are a must.

Rajiv, there is something called as standardization.Hence, airbags are a must. What if a truck bangs into your door at 40km/hr? Would surely survive without an airbag? Yes, but with an airbag you can be saved.



I tried this and I had understeer, I tried that and I had oversteer, at the end of the corner I just ran out of talent!

Airbag is one of the best safety feature!!!...i think now it should be standaard in every car!!..n even tata is planning to install it in nano!!which will be cheapest airbag in cheapest car!!...its for just Rs.400!!!


"One vision, Different Ways"

Maybe. But did you know that airbags can also kill and maim? An airbag deploys at speeds of up to 200 mph (320 kmph) and could seriously hurt somebody (especially in the front seat) who is not properly seat-belted and is leaning/pushed forward at the time of an accident, thus getting the deploying airbag smack in his face or body.

 

Here are some links that I strongly urge everybody to go through, especially now that many new cars come with airbags as a standard feature even in India:

 

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/childrencar.htm

http://www.airbagonoff.com/new_page_14.htm

http://www.ou.edu/oupd/kidseat.htm

 

Recemtly my wife wanted to book a Swift Dzire and her brother (a US citizen) strongly urged her to get the Zxi as he felt that airbags are a must. I have a 11-year old son and I put my foot down and compelled my wife to go for a Vxi instead. Mainly because my son insists on sitting in the front seat, does not always belt himself properly and keeps leaning forward to fiddle with AC, stereo, etc. By the way, I tried my best to convince my wife to go for a Hyundai i10 Kappa, but she wouldn't listen; the obsession with Maruti has strong roots in my family.

 

Here is a quote from the "car safety for children" website:

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Why are airbags dangerous for children?

Airbags were made to protect adults weighing about 75kg. They are very powerful when they are inflated and they are placed so low that a child placed in front of an airbag may suffocate or be severely injured by the impact of a rapidly inflating airbag.

If your child is younger than 12 years, they must never sit in a front-seat with an active airbag in front of them. When your child is over 12 and wants to sit in the front seat, move the seat as far back as possible.

A child seat must never be fitted in the front passenger seat if the car has a passenger side airbag. Some cars enable the driver to switch off the airbag. But it should be switched on again when an adult is using the seat.

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Even adults, especially women, are in danger of getting serious aibag injuries; there have been cases of deaths and broken arms, etc. If an accident happens at speeds less than about 60 kmph, my opinion is that the danger from a deploying airbag is greater than the danger of injury from the accident. I will think about a car with airbags when my son becomes at least 18 years old, not earlier.

 

Remember that airbags can get wrongly deployed due to faulty electronics. I do not think that Indian service centres (even authorized ones) will know much about the sensors, etc. in case of any problems. Faulty electronics is a real danger in India, given the often humid weather and dirty/dusty road conditions.

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I am shocked to read something like this coming from a knowledgeable member like you.

Being a Pediatrician routinely come across children involved with RTA's and have first hand experience with their injuries.

There are specific guidelines for transporting children in cars and in developed countries its punishable if not followed.

Here is the official guidelines for the same from the American Academy of Pediatrics who are the pioneers in car safety for children.

have a look

About your son-his place is not in the front and he definitely needs a booster seat-and its the parents responsibility to ensure that they stay safe and secure.

About airbags killing children- these are very very rare-if you follow the guidelines there are no issues at all.

About injury at high speed-320kmph - the last time i was doing this speed there was 150 people with me and the chap driving the thing was called a 'Piolt'!! Lets be realistic about this-please.

About old women-please provide the statistics/proof for the same.

Well guess your BIL was right this time around

About airbags in particular-design has evolved a lot

-now there are two stage airbags

-there are sensors for the weight of the person and differential triggers

-there are differential triggers for with and with out a seat belt situations also.

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