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If people slow down, follow rules, then this thread will have to be closed, isnt it ? This thread became 1200+ pages, so many eye openers but all we see is more contributions to this thread. Sad to see so many lives being wasted on a daily basis. Time to think if a few minutes of unsafe thrill is worth the risk !

It might help clear some misconceptions if you went back a few pages on this thread, where someone posted a video of what remains of a Ford Focus (better built than Maruti I would guess) after crashing at 120. Basically a crumpled mess is what remains. So whether it is a Baleno or Punto, the end-results in a similar/same crash would not be much different.

The Focus crash was at 120MPH which is about 192KMPH. Any car will be left to whatever remained of the Focus after the crash!

Its not about rules or thrill, its just complacency and negligence. You need to be 100% alert while driving on express ways and highways. A police officer at the accident spot said "drivers need to update their driving skills".

Thats the one.
A 5 star rated euro or otherwise car, will give you the same protection. at 64(?) kmph(the tested car. Not indian version, or mongolia version).
None of these accidents here look to be under that. So crashing at 100kmph, is basically luck driven if you survive. I dont think even a european manufacturer, supposedly adjudged as the best built, will put out a tagline saying "VW. Protecting you at 100kmph."
They cant, because they dont know. They could know, but wont be bothered if its not required.

After checking out the Baleno and the S-cross, the sheer lack of feeling of weight on the doors made me nervous of it's safety or rather lack of safety. But I may be wrong. Let's wait for a 60 kmph crash in a Baleno to draw any more conclusions.

Or may be like I've said before, if someone can direct us to links or stories where a Maruti's occupants survived a pretty bad crash that'll help too.

Edit: It's funny reading arguments that the visible damage could have been more while the occupants where being removed. I'd suggest them to look at many pics in this very thread, where welding, cut marks are visible. The Baleno doesn't have those. It's just crushed. Period.

Here is a little more detailed update in The Hindu today about the accident.

They say the time was after 6:30am which should be fairly bright to not miss a huge tanker even under Hyderabad fog.
I didn't come across any link where they are saying that tanker was in wrong lane,
so whether the car driver changed lanes or was already in wrong lane it seems negligence from his side.

According to the article on Motoroids, a brand new Baleno crashed and ended up crumpled like a piece of paper.

http://www.motoroids.com/news/maruti...ome-questions/

Now, I'm neither starting this topic to bash Maruti, nor to question how safe the car is - its just an open debate on safety. Just because these "new" cars come with airbags and ABS, that doesn't mean anything if they are being driven rashly on roads that do not permit such driving styles. A similar incident can be seen with a Verna that toppled and got crumpled on the BLR-MYS highway and it was a hot topic of discussion recently.

The debate is this - are we (as in the common man) becoming complacent, assuming that a car having ABS and airbags is indestructible? Are these safety features creating a false sense of (over)confidence amongst the driving community?

On the other hand, is ignorance to blame for such incidents? I've seen fully loaded Altos and 800s being driven at extremely dangerous speeds on highways, just because the road ahead is empty. When will people understand that just because the car comes with an accelerator pedal, it doesnt give them the liberty to go all out on it - and at the same time, just because the car has brakes, it will come to a stop when and where they want, at whatever speeds and loads they are doing? please:

Inputs welcome!

While 192kmph might not be sustainable on our roads, 150kmph is easily doable. Do you think there will be any significant difference in the way a Punto or Swift looks like after having the same/similar crash at 150kmph ? Both cars would still end up as crumpled heaps of metal in the event of a head-on collision with a bigger vehicle (or concrete barrier as in the video) with fatal consequences for the occupants.

Apart from the "Maruti" term being too generic (stands for anything from a bare M800 to the Grand Vitara), we also need to compare apples with apples across brands. I drive a Baleno and the Ford Fiesta Classic would be a peer, not just in terms of engine/power, but weight & safety features. In a similar accident, there is no factual data available to say that the Fiesta will fare better. With both cars tipping the scales at ~1000kg, the results will be similar.

So, there is nothing that a "story" will really help since accidents are different, but I remember a tbhp-ian walking out of a very bad crash in a Lancer (he had written his experience on the forum too - IIRC his handle is cheating_death or something on those lines). While not a Maruti, the Lancer is also a Jap weighing in roughly the same as its peers - Baleno / OHC etc.

Having grown up in Hyderabad, I can confidently say that at 6:30 in the morning, even if there is fog, it will be so little that someone needs to point it out to you. Especially on the section of the ORR from the airport to the city, visibility is always excellent with clear skies and the smooth, wide tarmac helps the situation further. This just seems to be a case of negligent driving. Speeding is a given on the Hyd ORR anyway :D Another fact I'd like to point out is that the car was travelling in the wrong lane if it was going fast it should have avoided the first two lanes as they are clearly marked for use by buses, trucks and other heavy vehicles

Without a doubt, yes! The safest of the safest, Volvo would also end up with the same fate if it ends up on a massive concrete wall. at those speeds :D

I think the Baleno didnt hit one such thing to end up in that state that it is. Structural integrity is more important than the 'X' number of airbags that could be offered in a car, be it 'optional' or 'standard'.

Actually, colliding with a massive concrete wall head-on, is the easiest kind of crash for a car to be involved in as it gets to use its crush zones to their fullest extent. The Baleno crashed into a truck veered off over the divider and then got hit by another truck if I am not mistaken. Angle of impact etc could have made this accident the severe one it is.

The accident is question involved the grandsons of former DGP of AP and the Chairman of Tourism Board, Telangana, Pervaram Ramulu.

It is heart wrenching to know that all of the died were brothers.

PS : A local daily reported that the car involved has multiple challans on it for rule breaking that include overspeeding, wrong parking...

I suspect the delinquent don't care style driving might be the reason !

Incidentally, I have met Varun once when he had come for my colleagues wedding. Sad to hear the news!

It was a case of wrong overtaking and high speeding in the wrong lane!

At 865kg, the Baleno is too light for a car in its segment. I wouldn't trust it to protect me in case of an accident even at 60kmph.

A common argument I hear is that since the car has not been NCAP tested, lets give it the benefit of the doubt. I think the benefit of the doubt should go to the man and not the machine.

The conclusion should be, "it isn't safe as long as it is not tested" AND NOT "its safe as long as it is not tested".

Call me biased, but I won't feel safe in any Maruti sold in India.