Team-BHP - Accidents in India

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What shocked me was the air bags was not at all deployed and the front end had taken quite a beating with the engine coming out of their mounts

It is possible that Air Bag sensors have not sensed collision - either speed was very low , impact was an at angle and sensors missed or the first impact was quite lower which may be also be the reason for mounts coming off , Airbag sensors usually have highly sensitive sensors to determine if Air bag needs to be deployed -

Have a look at

My Airbag Did Not Deploy-What Went Wrong? | The Airbag Blog

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Read some where that airbags do not deploy when the seatbelt is not on (Not very sure of that though).

There are options in many cars where you can manually switch of front Passenger Air Bag but Driver's Air bag cannot be switched off .

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Originally Posted by agspins (Post 2334077)

This weird and horrible crash happened yesterday evening at 8 pm, somewhere around 20kms from Nagpur. Mahindra Maxx taxi jumped the 10ft divider as driver lost control on high speed and came in the path of on coming TCI trailer. After collision the uncontrolled trailer rammed into a stationary truck parked on the road side, which resulted into toppling of stationary truck and tractor(trailer). Four people traveling in Maxx lost life instantly ( all of them in their 20's) and five people were seriously injured. May lost lives RIP..

However, I also note that the passenger in your car, not wearing the Belt. Please do insist the passengers to wear the belt. No offense please

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Originally Posted by Chalu (Post 2338581)

.. What shocked me was the air bags was not at all deployed and the front end had taken quite a beating with the engine coming out of their mounts. Can there be a possibility of the air bag / sensors failure?

Front airbags usually deploy only on frontal impact. May be the car just rolled over a corner. Also where exactly was the accident?. How many kms inside the forest check post?

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Originally Posted by DRIV3R (Post 2339837)

^ Airbags work only if the seatbelts are on, in most cars.

Hey DRIV3R, I think its the other way round. These days, most cars Airbags do deploy even if seat belt is not worn. AFAIK, the presence is detected by seat weight sensors.

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Originally Posted by asr245 (Post 2339171)

That would have been scary :eek:

From the pic it looks like damage shouldn't run into 5 figures though you might want to get the front suspension assembly also checked as a precaution.

Hopefully the other guy learnt a lesson.

PS: On closer inspection, alloy looks bent. Did he by any chance pay for any part of the damage?

If the alloy wheel is damaged (almost twisted and bent) how come there is air still found in the tyres.It seems he is using tubes in tubeless tyres.

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Originally Posted by A350XWB (Post 2339728)

I've noticed that many holiday makers who drive to Waynad or Ooty drive like crazy. Add to that, the cabbies and trucks. Overtaking at blind turns and overspeeding are common sight. People are not careful even though they don't know the route.

Correct.I was almost T boned by an out of control tourist Indica who just couldnt slow down on one of the 36 hair pin bends on the Masinagudi road.

About traffic on the Nanjangud road ,the less you speak the better .This kind of driving is very evident on the entire Bangalore-Mysore-Gundulpet stretch

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Originally Posted by speedsatya (Post 2340970)

About traffic on the Nanjangud road ,the less you speak the better .This kind of driving is very evident on the entire Bangalore-Mysore-Gundulpet stretch

Avoid that section at night (evening to be precise) as most of the people (not just the cabs but almost everyone barring a few) drive with their headlights on high beam with break-neck speeds and with no respect anyone coming from the other direction. Most probably this rush is due to the Bandipur Forest gate closure time of 9pm.

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Originally Posted by dhanushs (Post 2340073)

Hey DRIV3R, I think its the other way round. These days, most cars Airbags do deploy even if seat belt is not worn. AFAIK, the presence is detected by seat weight sensors.

Hello dhanushs, this is not right. You need to wear the seat belt for the airbag to deploy. There is a reason behind this. The force of airbag deployment can be too much for the human body to bear. If you directly hit the airbag during the deployment, your chance of survival actually decreases. That is the reason why we have pre-tensioners and load limiters on seat belts for cars having airbags and usually only ELR on others. They strap you when it senses an impact and then releases you in a controlled manner on to the deployed airbag. (all these happens in a matter of milliseconds - see the youtube videos of airbag deployments)

The seat sensors are secondary and they avoid the unnecessary deployment of airbags if the passenger seats are vacant.

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Originally Posted by A350XWB (Post 2341187)

+1 to that.
There have been quite a few lawsuits when airbag deployment has killed people, especially children.
If there is no seatbelt on, the person could be ANYWHERE, and not necessarily between the headrest and the bag.
now imagine the persons head in this case taking a hit at an angle and going on to bounce against the window.
could even cause decapitation.

Airbags are SRS, because they're complementary safety features.

You cant say the airbag failed to deploy, if the person is not wearing the belt.
Also, it would be wrong to generalize that honda/ford/MS/xxxx airbags fail to deploy.
Remember, its a feature which, if it fails, then manufacturer stands to lose quite a lot by way of lawsuits as well as markets.
And as it is, it is governed very stringently.
We may not have a very stringent mechanism in place, but people have now started looking at NCAP and what not, in cars marketed in India too.
And manufacturers are publicizing that, in India.
If Hyundai's 5-start fails here on some safety measure, it has failed worldwide on that test wherever it is using that rating as USP.

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Originally Posted by A350XWB (Post 2341187)

.... There is a reason behind this. The force of airbag deployment can be too much for the human body to bear. If you directly hit the airbag during the deployment, your chance of survival actually decreases.

Hey, isn't it only for children. Not for fully grown adults.

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Originally Posted by A350XWB (Post 2341187)

The seat sensors are secondary and they avoid the unnecessary deployment of airbags if the passenger seats are vacant.

Initially, manufactures had used seat belts for triggering the airbags. AFAIK, not now, in most cars.

Airbags for passenger cars were introduced in the United States in the mid-1970s, when seat belt usage rates in the country were quite low.

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Originally Posted by mayankk (Post 2341380)

+1 to that.
There have been quite a few lawsuits when airbag deployment has killed people, especially children.
If there is no seatbelt on, the person could be ANYWHERE, and not necessarily between the headrest and the bag....

.... Airbags are SRS, because they're complementary safety features.

You cant say the airbag failed to deploy, if the person is not wearing the belt....

Yes, Air bags are SRS, and Airbags for passenger cars were introduced in the United States in the mid-1970s, when seat belt usage rates in the country were quite low.

Now, this does not mean that Airbags CANNOT deploy if seat belts are not worn. Well this is as per my knowledge. Please point out specific examples where airbag's DO NOT deploy when seat belts are not worn. Car's with this method will do.

Thank you.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbag#..._to_seat_belts