Should Airbags and ABS Be Mandatory?

[ramesh.ms85]

{"QUOTE"}ramesh.ms85;219561

I voted No.!

- Lack of proper parking place for all four wheels.
- Wreck less drivers(Not just the 4 wheelers, we should also include bikers here)
- People who never wanted to maintain a proper distance between vehicles in draffic.
- People who don't even have Lane sense while driving on road.
- Lethargic and Idiotic pedestrians.

If airbag is engaged becuase of any above reason then that would be the pain for vehicle owners each time.

"People who involve most of the driving in highways should make sure that they have Airbags and ABS EBD equipped in their vehicles for safety". {"QUOTE"}

It is unlikely and hypothetical for airbags to go operational for reason mentioned above in city and if in case of accident if they go operational what pain and what is the problem?Still If you are worried about it you can use the air bag on off button before you take off.

And who told you that cars plying on city roads doesn't ply on highways.and vice versa?

Hi Tornado,

Good that you bought Airbag turn off switch to the discussion. So you think that you would just use the switch and country should be allowed the same way as it is now.?

My vision here is future thought, also I mentioned here is that the airbag should not be deployed for silly reason which is a pain for a car owner. I know my friend's car airbags been deployed for lack of parking space in shopping mall where he accidently hit a pillar. Once if the silly issues like these are sorted out then its worth to have airbag mandatory for all variants.

I certainly abide your point that all cars ply in highways. Guess you didn't properly read my post. I mentioned people who involve most of driving in highway then its worth to pay additional bucks for airbags. Hope you got my point this time..

 

[jayadev]

Tornado, looks like you have gone overboard .anyway
I see it in this way, we all buy laptops and computers but how many of us would like to see some antivirus being made compulsary?
At least I buy a better one which may cost high.
I dont think there is a way out without an antivirus in present world. But I have never bothered to use what comes as oem.

i drive slow and I wish not to pay more for what will remain useless for me.

 

[Tornado]

@ramesh
The six points raised by you (parking space, lane cutting, safe distance, bad driving corruption, pedestrians) are beyond the capacity and scope of car buyers. In our country numerocracy prevails.
More the numbers of people , more they will be heard. For eg. Number of pedestrians is more than car buyers.
Some where I read that they are kings of the road and it is their right to cross the road first .So they really behave like kings crossing the road from anywhere and anyhow.
I respect your future vision. But to experience the future we need to keep our life and limb in safe condition at present and this thread is all about that.

Now your friends airbag issue : Ideally A air bag does not open unless impact is strong enough or seat belt gets pulled forward up to a specific limit .If in case of your friend the impact wasn't strong enough then there is possibility of manufacturing defect in operation system of air bags but the manufactuer will get the benefit of dobt here.

Now you said that people who drive mostly on highways should invest on airbags .
But accident is a incidence which is neighter designed nor decided. So if a frequent city runner happens to travel on highway for a ultrashort distance and if a fast truck comes and bangs on his car, don't you think air bags would save his life?

 

[Tornado]

Tornado,

i drive slow and I wish not to pay more for what will remain useless for me.

@jaydeo, your is ideal case for my demand of optionally available abs, airbags.
Since you drive slow , you should be allowed to purchase air bag equipped car as impact doesn't depend on your driving style alone and ABS should not be compelled in your car and save money for choosing the numbers of airbags.
But there is no car available which is airbag eqipped but devoid of ABS.
And my demand is availability of such model .

 

[jayadev]

@jaydeo, your is ideal case for my demand of optionally available abs, airbags.
Since you drive slow , you should be allowed to purchase air bag equipped car as impact doesn't depend on your driving style alone and ABS should not be compelled in your car and save money for choosing the numbers of airbags.
But there is no car available which is airbag eqipped but devoid of ABS.
And my demand is availability of such model .

May be they dont find it practical from buyers POV.
Majority of Indians fancy on safety equipments as a luxury component which means if your car have ABS and airbags then it is expensive.And they are selling it not for your concerns but to garner maximum premium.

Some people stick label at rear "ABS". few car owners commented that breaks of my car would be incredible because they are ABS.

These devices are not natural but "PATENTED "automated electro mechanical technology which keeps evolving in time .I am not convinced how much reliable and useful they are for day to day normal driving.
I think we Indians do understand it well and probably that is why lower end models sells more than higher ones
Making it mandatory would be an forced imposition on Buyers.

 

[TSIVipul]

I think we Indians do understand it well and probably that is why lower end models sells more than higher ones
Making it mandatory would be an forced imposition on Buyers.

Lower end ones sell more than higher end ones because people believe that "Life and death is in Gods' hands" not in the hands of the driver when on road. And hence people don't 'waste' their 15-20k for these life saving features, instead they are more happy in bribing God for their safety with 5-10% of the amount they have saved by not opting for ABS and airbags.

 

[jayadev]

Lower end ones sell more than higher end ones because people believe that "Life and death is in Gods' hands" not in the hands of the driver when on road. And hence people don't 'waste' their 15-20k for these life saving features, instead they are more happy in bribing God for their safety with 5-10% of the amount they have saved by not opting for ABS and airbags.

It sounds very immature of you.
come on buddy ! You are indirectly pointing towards me that I am more superstitious than factual.

For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind. ~Eleanor Everet

 

[TSIVipul]

It sounds very immature of you.
come on buddy ! You are indirectly pointing towards me that I am more superstitious than factual.

For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind. ~Eleanor Everet

Buddy you got me wrong, there we no intentions of pointing you. In fact how can I even point you when I know that you yourself drive a car equipped with both.
All I meant was the mentality of our buyers who think that money invested on safety features is money wasted.

 

[autosafari]

Lower end ones sell more than higher end ones because people believe that "Life and death is in Gods' hands" not in the hands of the driver when on road. And hence people don't 'waste' their 15-20k for these life saving features, instead they are more happy in bribing God for their safety with 5-10% of the amount they have saved by not opting for ABS and airbags.

Whats the use of safety equipements when some people on the road think that driving at very high speeds (>150 kmph) is normal and nothing can harm them since their car is equipped with ABS and Airbags.

Like Jayadev mentioned, some people comment that their car has excellent braking power and they also believe that way. There are many who take chances because their car has ABS brakes.

 

[Gurrala74]

+100 Autosafari

Having ABS is good in emergency situations, but it should not be like ABS is there so they can drive as careless they could !! this is the mind set in most of Indian buyers !!

 

[jayadev]

+100 Autosafari

Having ABS is good in emergency situations, but it should not be like ABS is there so they can drive as careless they could !! this is the mind set in most of Indian buyers !!

In west somehow it looks mandatory while you cruise cross country at 150 and above.
In India anything above 70kmph is illigal on most roads and going beyond 60 is suicidal ,then what is the point of 6 piece airbags and Abs?

Being overconfident in your safety gadgets it may save your life but may kill the pedestrian or anything else you hit.
Drive slow be safe and let others be safe.

 

[TSIVipul]

Whats the use of safety equipements when some people on the road think that driving at very high speeds (>150 kmph) is normal and nothing can harm them since their car is equipped with ABS and Airbags.

Like Jayadev mentioned, some people comment that their car has excellent braking power and they also believe that way. There are many who take chances because their car has ABS brakes.

Well, buddy the point is that ABS isn't anything which gives us certificate to drve fast but ABS is something which can save the life when something comes in front when you are driving at elevated speeds. It gives the driver a confidence that he can brake hard and cut the lane, both simultaneously. But one thing for sure, only because of ABS, I have saved accidents at 120 kph which people were not able to save even at 100 kph in their non-ABS cars.

+100 Autosafari

Having ABS is good in emergency situations, but it should not be like ABS is there so they can drive as careless they could !! this is the mind set in most of Indian buyers !!

Can we call it lack of education among buyers?

 

[EnfieldRyder]

I would say ABS and AirBags should be made optional in the low end variants and provide them at the elevated price for the top models. This way people who think that its a waste investment won't bother to buy then but at a later point of time if they encounter something and would like to get it retrofitted then they will have that option instead of selling the car and buying a new one with safety features.

However I would say irrespective of how our roads are or the people, having both the safety features would be a prudent and a good investment. Making it mandatory would again start off a debate since the manufacturers would not be able to reduce the price and their investment per unit would increase as well, however I believe its a collective responsibility of everyone not only manufacturers, the govt. even the public that uses the cars should ask for making the ABS & Airbags a safety feature whether optional or mandatory without loss of quality.

If anyone has watched the movie "Demolition Man" of Sylvester Stallone then in the climax of the movie he crashes into a pool at the SAPD HQ, during the crash the whole cabin gets filled with foam. Now I am not sure if experiments are being conducted on such a tech and if at all it will be successful in protecting the life of a person involved in an accident, I can only guess such a technology might prove to be effective than what we already have and being used sparingly here.

 

[jayadev]

I would say ABS and AirBags should be made optional in the low end variants and provide them at the elevated price for the top models. This way people who think that its a waste investment won't bother to buy then but at a later point of time if they encounter something and would like to get it retrofitted then they will have that option instead of selling the car and buying a new one with safety features.

However I would say irrespective of how our roads are or the people, having both the safety features would be a prudent and a good investment. Making it mandatory would again start off a debate since the manufacturers would not be able to reduce the price and their investment per unit would increase as well, however I believe its a collective responsibility of everyone not only manufacturers, the govt. even the public that uses the cars should ask for making the ABS & Airbags a safety feature whether optional or mandatory without loss of quality.

One of the worst part I am afraid to mention is reliability of these Automated technology.even if the price level goes up by one bar , Manufacturers are here to sell!

Rather I insist on well built car then I add abs and airbags.

Other wise there are numerous arguments to defend the inefficacy of these gadgets. I am left gambling in the name of safety features.
In present scenario quality of braking is under question (recent one was new Suzuki swift with ABS)

 

[dharmesh]

One of the worst part I am afraid to mention is reliability of these Automated technology.even if the price level goes up by one bar , Manufacturers are here to sell!

Rather I insist on well built car then I add abs and airbags.

Other wise there are numerous arguments to defend the inefficacy of these gadgets. I am left gambling in the name of safety features.
In present scenario quality of braking is under question (recent one was new Suzuki swift with ABS)

I agree to jayadev in saying that, let companies make strong cars, that could also save you when you are stationary and some one bangs you from behind or sideways. In both of the cases neither airbags nor ABS will come into picture, but only the strong built of the car.