Smalls cars, big safety issue

We in India take safety for granted; we need a major attack to wake us up to the perils we live in. The cars we drive in; we just assume that they are very safe. We pay a small price for a small car but based on studies by London car-safety watchdog Global NCAP, we could eventually end up paying a big price for it with our life.

This watchdog which performed the crash tests on five car models in India failed to protect passengers during collisions in independent crash tests on India-made automobiles. Its study showed that passengers risked death or serious injury in collisions at 64 kilometers or 40 miles/hour. It was shameful to learn that the NCAP funds levels of safety in India which are 20 years behind the five-star standards now common in Europe and North America. It has stated that poor structural integrity and the absence of airbags are putting the lives of Indian consumers at risk.

The study showed that Alto, Nano and i10 all have structures that crumbled so much during the crash tests that even if they had airbags, occupants would have been exposed to serious injury. Global NCAP said the Figo and Polo had more stable structures which would have been strong enough to save passengers from serious injury should driver and front passenger seat airbags be added. Volkswagen Polo secured a four-star safety rating for adult occupant protection, meaning that is currently the only safe small car in India.