What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars?

rajwheelz · 11th May 2018, 15:18

Must be a new way of warding off the evil eye.

Previously a worn out chappal and the words "Buri Nazar wala thera moo kala" used to do the trick.

ARAY · 11th May 2018, 15:28

The strange thing is , no matter how much we curse these things it did catch the attention of several bhpians and now we even have a thred on that "silly" product. If hanging this to the back of vehicles is attracting the attention i think the simple idea has scored 10/10 and has probably added some value to the safety aspect at the rear ?
PS: I saw few cars with the same design but made of reflective radium tape . With air pressure suddenly decreasing at the rear it creates a whirlpool and this thing swings and circles fanatically and the reflective surface does draw a lot of attention.

rajinibm · 11th May 2018, 15:36

Saw a lot of cars with these dangling strips on my drive from Chennai to bangalore. A few of them were multi-coloured and they certainly do catch the eye and at I thought they looked cool dangling the way they were -- fluttering in the wind.
Ofcourse they serve no logical purpose.

rvd8732 · 11th May 2018, 16:39

These actually looks cool in the night, comes in single and dual flashy colors (actually not tow hook but it's like a key chain material). Now a days, these are available for two wheelers and autorikshaw as well.

saur95 · 11th May 2018, 20:53

I always thought that this is the drift charm trend catching on India?

A bit of a fad considering many of these cars don't look like they will be doing any drifting

As per Urban Dictionary: https://www.urbandictionary.com/defi...=drift%20charm

What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars?-161064.jpg

suzuki san · 11th May 2018, 22:11

Hi Guys,

This is what I have hanging from the inside of the back bumper. It's an "Earthing Strap". No fluorescent colors or advertisements. All black with two thin orange strips down the sides. Adjusted to just scrape the ground. It is supposed to "ground" any built up static electricity and thereby help with travel sickness. Well, that's what the ad said. I bought this in Australia.

Regards,
SS

Naveen_0181 · 11th May 2018, 22:26

As someone pointed out, these straps could be useful for locating the position of the tow hook easily!
I don't see any other purpose other than this and most of the owners might be just adding them as a showoff! or is it the service center guys who started to add these and the owners never bothered to remove them?

S@M@R · 11th May 2018, 23:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzuki san

This is what I have hanging from the inside of the back bumper. It's an "Earthing Strap". No fluorescent colors or advertisements. All black with two thin orange strips down the sides. Adjusted to just scrape the ground. It is supposed to "ground" any built up static electricity and thereby help with travel sickness.

In your experience. does the 'Earthing Belt' or 'Anti-Static Strap' actually work to reduce travel sickness?

I've seen some jazzy static belts cladded with reflectors to serve a dual purpose but I never fancied them as I hate the idea of having something being dragged behind. Besides, I'm also skeptical if they actually make any difference.

NiInJa · 12th May 2018, 13:44

If you are into off-roading and stuff, this might serve the purpose to find the tow hooks easily, specifically in dark, but for daily drives I dont see why it is so important. Its the car owner's decision though. I for one don't put anything fancy on my car if it does not serve any function.

Plus these straps are an invitation for mischief. Imagine some miscreants lighting it up with a match stick or tying the loop to something else, not many actually check the rear of their car before starting off.

captain.torque · 12th May 2018, 14:56

After going through the comments, I feel this trend has so far not reached the northern part of the nation, Thank God for that. I have so far not seen a SINGLE car in the national capital region with these hooks.

Furthermore, last week I returned from Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh after a three day trip and there too this silly trend has not caught up.

And as I had to traverse through Haryana and Punjab to reach Himachal (via the GT Road) the limited exposure I had of cars from different northern states, none had these ribbons.

paragsachania · 12th May 2018, 15:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by captain.torque

Thank God for that. I have so far not seen a SINGLE car in the national capital region with these hooks.

The picture in the opening post you see is that from an Ertiga of my friend, from Delhi

.

bigdad · 12th May 2018, 19:31

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sid_hilldriver · 12th May 2018, 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Guys,

This is what I have hanging from the inside of the back bumper. It's an "Earthing Strap". No fluorescent colors or advertisements. All black with two thin orange strips down the sides. Adjusted to just scrape the ground. It is supposed to "ground" any built up static electricity and thereby help with travel sickness. Well, that's what the ad said. I bought this in Australia.

Regards,
SS

Do you mean to say that after installing this, one wont receive those shocks while stepping out of the vehicle(specially in winter clothing)? Also elaborate regarding travel sickness thing too. I didn't know it had something to do with static electricity.

Have you installed it ? If yes, then please oblige by posting a pic of the same.

Thanks and regards.

suzuki san · 12th May 2018, 23:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by S@M@R

In your experience. does the 'Earthing Belt' or 'Anti-Static Strap' actually work to reduce travel sickness?

Hi Samar,
Well, my wife is the one who suffers from car sickness and after fitting this she seems to be much better. However, it may be a placebo effect as I made a big production about fitting this.

The annoying part is that wherever I stop, people come up to me and tell me something's broken and hanging from the back of the car!!

Regards,
SS

giri1.8 · 13th May 2018, 13:46

Not sure why is everyone against this

It's not annoying us like cheap blinking LED lights or HID with no projectors.

I love adding custom touches to my car, that I can easily remove.Modifying is usually extremely expensive and some mods can't be removed, little things like this, actually will keep our interest in our car in the long run, making something or the other little different always helps us to hold our car for long term.

11th May 2018, 15:18	#31
rajwheelz BHPian Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 91 Thanked: 131 Times	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? Must be a new way of warding off the evil eye. Previously a worn out chappal and the words "Buri Nazar wala thera moo kala" used to do the trick.
	(2) Thanks

11th May 2018, 15:28	#32
ARAY BHPian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: WB 38 Posts: 664 Thanked: 2,752 Times View My Garage	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? The strange thing is , no matter how much we curse these things it did catch the attention of several bhpians and now we even have a thred on that "silly" product. If hanging this to the back of vehicles is attracting the attention i think the simple idea has scored 10/10 and has probably added some value to the safety aspect at the rear ? PS: I saw few cars with the same design but made of reflective radium tape . With air pressure suddenly decreasing at the rear it creates a whirlpool and this thing swings and circles fanatically and the reflective surface does draw a lot of attention. Last edited by ARAY : 11th May 2018 at 15:36.
	(1) Thanks

11th May 2018, 15:36	#33
rajinibm BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 181 Thanked: 39 Times	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? Saw a lot of cars with these dangling strips on my drive from Chennai to bangalore. A few of them were multi-coloured and they certainly do catch the eye and at I thought they looked cool dangling the way they were -- fluttering in the wind. Ofcourse they serve no logical purpose.
	(2) Thanks

11th May 2018, 16:39	#34
rvd8732 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 70 Thanked: 115 Times	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? These actually looks cool in the night, comes in single and dual flashy colors (actually not tow hook but it's like a key chain material). Now a days, these are available for two wheelers and autorikshaw as well.
	(1) Thanks

11th May 2018, 20:53	#35
saur95 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Bombay Posts: 122 Thanked: 429 Times	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? I always thought that this is the drift charm trend catching on India? A bit of a fad considering many of these cars don't look like they will be doing any drifting As per Urban Dictionary: https://www.urbandictionary.com/defi...=drift%20charm Last edited by GTO : 18th May 2018 at 08:44. Reason: Uploading pic as attachment
	(2) Thanks

11th May 2018, 22:11	#36
suzuki san BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Goa Posts: 767 Thanked: 683 Times View My Garage	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? Hi Guys, This is what I have hanging from the inside of the back bumper. It's an "Earthing Strap". No fluorescent colors or advertisements. All black with two thin orange strips down the sides. Adjusted to just scrape the ground. It is supposed to "ground" any built up static electricity and thereby help with travel sickness. Well, that's what the ad said. I bought this in Australia. Regards, SS Attached Thumbnails
	(3) Thanks

11th May 2018, 22:26	#37
Naveen_0181 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: St.Louis, USA Posts: 53 Thanked: 61 Times	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? As someone pointed out, these straps could be useful for locating the position of the tow hook easily! I don't see any other purpose other than this and most of the owners might be just adding them as a showoff! or is it the service center guys who started to add these and the owners never bothered to remove them?
	() Thanks

12th May 2018, 13:44	#39
NiInJa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Pune Posts: 1,108 Thanked: 4,049 Times	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? If you are into off-roading and stuff, this might serve the purpose to find the tow hooks easily, specifically in dark, but for daily drives I dont see why it is so important. Its the car owner's decision though. I for one don't put anything fancy on my car if it does not serve any function. Plus these straps are an invitation for mischief. Imagine some miscreants lighting it up with a match stick or tying the loop to something else, not many actually check the rear of their car before starting off.
	() Thanks

12th May 2018, 14:56	#40
captain.torque BHPian Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: New Delhi Posts: 212 Thanked: 892 Times	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? After going through the comments, I feel this trend has so far not reached the northern part of the nation, Thank God for that. I have so far not seen a SINGLE car in the national capital region with these hooks. Furthermore, last week I returned from Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh after a three day trip and there too this silly trend has not caught up. And as I had to traverse through Haryana and Punjab to reach Himachal (via the GT Road) the limited exposure I had of cars from different northern states, none had these ribbons.
	() Thanks

12th May 2018, 19:31	#42
bigdad Newbie Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: trivandrum Posts: 4 Thanked: 3 Times	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? Mod Note : Chat and SMS Language are STRICTLY prohibited on Team-BHP. Please type in full and proper English for the benefit of other community members. We advise you to read the Forum Rules before proceeding any further. Last edited by Eddy : 12th May 2018 at 23:24. Reason: Note inline
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13th May 2018, 13:46	#45
giri1.8 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,763 Thanked: 4,748 Times	Re: What are those colorful straps hanging off the rear tow hook of cars? Not sure why is everyone against this It's not annoying us like cheap blinking LED lights or HID with no projectors. I love adding custom touches to my car, that I can easily remove.Modifying is usually extremely expensive and some mods can't be removed, little things like this, actually will keep our interest in our car in the long run, making something or the other little different always helps us to hold our car for long term.
	(2) Thanks