DailyPost 2979
BHARAT NCAP – HOW SAFE ARE OUR CARS?
India is a land of talking and no issue is above and beyond it. From the recurring issues of glaring lack of road safety ecosystem to the existential battle in Manipur, it is nothing but table talk in a variety of formats to confuse or buy time or both. In India nothing changes but the camouflage. Indian roads are touted to have revolutionised in the last decade or so, but still India remains perched on the top position in road accidents globally, on a regular basis. What a dubious distinction. The cars too have transformed.
The looks and gadgetary have all changed. It has computerised automated controls and all inputs of the drivers to respond in real time and few safety actions, the car can take care on its own too. Though there has been no clear cut connection between the quality of the car and it’s falling prey to an accident, undeniably, a presumptive and most likely a real life connection is there. The car safety ratings are touted as a critical sales tool and it is often presumed that a better safety rating assures a safer existence for both the driver and the passengers.
There were any number of Indian cars that have fared miserably at the Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Program). All ratings are taken at face value. What it actually means in different accident scenarios is barely discussed. No manufacturer has actually put it threadbare to make the customer understand and be comfortable. As it is turning out, the safety claims are as good or as bad as the mileage claims. The customer is forced to become a bystander in the face of lying blitzkrieg. These ratings supposedly help the customers make informed decisions.
Why are unsafe cars cleared for sale in the first place? What are the empirical parameters to term a car as unsafe ? Now we have a Bharat NCAP as well, a significant initiative aimed at improving road safety. Has road safety been improving? Recent accidents in Dehradun and Srinagar have ripped apart all claims of car safety, and our total ignorance to nature and use of the results of these tests and other safety features on board for any conspicuous tangible benefits. Overspeeding has been the biggest killer. Ironically, the maximum speed of Bharat NCAP tests are 64 km/h for the frontal offset impact test. At high speeds there is zero safety that the car can provide. Both Toyota Innova (Dehradun) and Mahindra Thar (Srinagar) were reduced to a mangled wreck. Reports suggest that the airbags in the Thar accident did not deploy. Fate is the only safety.
THE CAR MANUFACTURERS AND TESTING AGENCIES HAVE LEFT THE HAPLESS CUSTOMERS IN THE LURCH.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.