[ankan.m.blr]

Originally Posted by EasyR1der

Read this disturbing news early morning.

"NEW DELHI: A 38-year-old businessman was charred to death inside his car, a Toyota Etios, when it suddenly burst into flames seconds after stopping at a traffic signal on the outer Ring Road in west Delhi on Wednesday night"

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/34847473.cms

Wonder is any car is Safe.

The Indian Foundation of Transport Research & Training (IFTRT) investigated this incident and attributed this to manufacturing defect from Toyota.

Did maker's fault cause Etios to go up in flames?

NEW DELHI: On May 7, a Toyota Etios car caught fire in northwest Delhi's Pitampura, killing businessman Amit Moga. The car, DL 12CD 0618, was just two years old. Many conjectures were floated on the cause of fire by the car company and sundry "auto experts". It was surmised that the fire was triggered by a short circuit caused by unreliable wiring done by private mechanics.

The Indian Foundation of Transport Research & Training (IFTRT) went into the case and highlighted facts that pointed to a completely different trigger. The facts indicated that the fire was caused by manufacturing defect. IFTRT's investigations, based on the inspection of the car at Mangolpuri police station and conversations with police officers and Moga's relatives, revealed the following:

The most robust aggregate of the vehicle - the engine block along with other materials — had melted and crumbled beyond recognition.

The police FIR, filed by investigating officer Rajbir Singh, was registered under section 304A of IPC (death caused by negligence). However, the postmortem report didn't indicate foul play. The gold kada (bangle) worn by the victim was intact and was returned to the victim's family. Family members gave in writing that they didn't suspect any foul play.

The car was purchased on March 12, 2012 from Toyota's authorized dealer, Galaxy Toyota, west Delhi. The vehicle was last reported to the authorized service centre on November 8, 2013, after which it had run only 11,941km. The vehicle was all along maintained by the Toyota dealership. This was confirmed by Galaxy Toyota's mechanical head, Ashwini Upadhyaya, indicating that the car had been maintained as per the schedule prescribed by the manufacturer/dealer.

No one from Toyota came to inspect the charred vehicle within 24 hours of the accident to ascertain the possible cause of fire. This despite the dealer's mechanical team, led by Upadhyaya, saying the manufacturer would be informed of the case.

The car was not fitted with any locally-procured CNG kit - the usual suspect in cases of sudden blaze. Reports that appeared to suggest faulty wiring or overloaded electrical system did not provide any evidence to support these claims.

Prima facie, it appears that the car developed serious overheating and generating contraction. This passed on the load to the wire harness below the dashboard which resulted in the blaze. This can only happen due to serious technical and mechanical defects in the vehicle.

On April 21, 2013, a Honda Civic (DL 3CBA 6682), had caught fire as it was being driven through the tunnel at IGI airport around 5.20pm. The sole occupant, the driver, died in the fire. The airport police registered a case of negligence under section 304A of IPC. The car was owned and driven by the manufacturers, Honda Kirloskar Pvt Ltd, hence the possibility of it being fitted with cheap electrical wiring seem remote.

IFTRT has sought a special investigation into car fires. Unexplained auto fires leading to loss of lives would be taken seriously in most developed countries. It is time all stakeholders in India's auto industry showed the same degree of seriousness.

Source : TimesOfIndia

[volkman10]

Government steps in for fire incidents - To be monitored.

As per the proposal, the monitoring will be on a monthly basis. Every three months, all such cases will be taken up by the Central Motor Vehicles Rules-Technical Standing Committee (CMVR-TSC), the apex body for type approval of vehicles and components

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes...robes/36138298

[gsbhatia]

Originally Posted by Ironhide

Is it the original Life Hammer?

Yes, looks original to me. Price seems to be reasonable too.

[sinharishi]

Just got these pictures from my cousin. As per him a Toyota Corolla caught fire near Coloumbia Foundation School in Vikaspuri, New Delhi. There was a Lady with her daughter who got out in time.

[SS-Traveller]

Report in today's Times of India about of a Chevrolet Captiva catching fire - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...=Top_Headlines

Polo player, wife get out in time as car catches fire
Polo player Samir Suhag had a close shave last Tuesday when his Captiva, a Chevrolet car, caught fire on the Gurgaon-Delhi expressway around 1.30pm. Fortunately, he and his wife managed to get out of the car before its central locking system got jammed.

"We were driving slowly while coming back to Gurgaon from Delhi when my wife noticed smoke coming out of the engine on her side. We took Exit 8 from the highway, parked the car on one side and immediately got out. To check the origin of the smoke, I also opened the bonnet and the flames leapt out of it. Soon, the fire spread and the whole car was on fire," said Suhag, an Arjuna awardee who had represented India.

Suhag, a resident of Gurgaon, said the reason behind the fire was still unknown. "We bought the car in 2011 for around Rs 25 lakh. It is now parked at the Chevrolet service centre and they are trying to find out what caused the fire," he added.

The player said a little after getting out of the diesel car, he tried to open the car again to take out its papers. But by then the central locking system had jammed the doors and the windows. "Had we not got out on time, the car could've proved to be a gas chamber for us. The doors were locked and the key also didn't work."

He has already claimed insurance but finds it very dangerous "if high-end cars also catch fire like this. Obviously, the fire didn't start because of an external source but something inside the engine only triggered it".

[zenren]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Report in today's Times of India about of a Chevrolet Captiva catching fire - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...=Top_Headlines

Attachment 1264598

It is really scary to see the modern electronics locking the doors and windows with no manual override option even from the inside.

There should be some back-up lever mechanism in the high-end electronics dependent cars to prevent mishaps like this turning fatal.

[svsantosh]

Hosur omni burnt to ashes! Sadly at least one person was inside, i was 100 meters away from it and frankly no one could help, it was all over in 1:30mins.

http://youtu.be/ibC9zFNQEFY

From Mobile, e&o.e

[arun_josie]

Source: Facebook.
Innova catches fire in Kerala, today. Driver and passengers came out immediately.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Hosur omni burnt to ashes! Sadly at least one person was inside, i was 100 meters away from it and frankly no one could help.....

Newspaper says..."..."



Translation...

2 brothers from Maasthi town near malur were visiting hosur to distribute wedding cards for the younger one. Driver/younger brother noticed petrol leak few kms before hosur/accident spot and "decided" to drive on to the mechanic... He jumped out asap but his elder brother (&newly wed too, sad) lost his life.

[nik0502]

Saw three cars burnt in last 10 days. All on Gurgaon Faridabad Highway. First one being an Optra which I saw burning some 10 days back around 8 PM on Suraj Kund road. Second being an Accent which was burnt a week back i guess and found a Type 2 Accord burnt on the Suraj Kund road today. The car was not there in the morning so my guess is that it happened today itself. Too many incidents these days of cars catching fire. And my observation says all are petrol if there was a CNG kit added or not I can't comment. One of my friends says he was told by someone that Petrol pump owners are mixing some additives in petrol which is causing so many fires. Any thoughts from BHPians.

nIk

[Ironhide]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

You can buy this in India:

Attachment 1201559

This is multipurpose all-in-one tool with air pressure gauge built in.

Available at most of the Bridgestone tyre/accessory stores.

Also can be bought from their online store : http://www.securide.in/more.php?pid=12

Have you or anyone you know used it? What I'm interested in is:-

1. The Glass Breaking Hammer and the Seat belt cutter should work as advertised - can't have that failing the one time that you'd need it the most!
2. The tyre pressure gauge should be accurate.
3. Rest of the gizmos are, well, not so essential. It'd be plus point if they work as advertised

Cheers !

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by Ironhide

Have you or anyone you know used it? What I'm interested in is:-

I have it and I hope, wish and pray that I never have to use it in my life.

One thing I can tell you that the tool feels solid and heavy and parts look very well built. It doesn't feel like any cheap Chinese product.

[Ironhide]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

I have it and I hope, wish and pray that I never have to use it in my life.

One thing I can tell you that the tool feels solid and heavy and parts look very well built. It doesn't feel like any cheap Chinese product.

Thanks for the prompt reply. A couple more questions ...

• Is it ergonomic and easy to use like a regular hammer?
• Does it come with a mounting bracket like the Lifehammer?
• If yes, where should it be ideally mounted?
• Is the tyre pressure gauge accurate?

Cheers !

(Pic Courtesy - Google)

Life Hammer



Digital Tyre Pressure Gauge-Multi Utility

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by Ironhide

[*]Is it ergonomic and easy to use like a regular hammer?

Ergonomics are good but size is not that big like a dedicated lifehammer. I bought it after personally inspecting it at a shop and it felt decently built so bought it.

[*]Does it come with a mounting bracket like the Lifehammer?

No

[*]If yes, where should it be ideally mounted?

Well thats upto you. It doesn't come with mounting bracket but I think you can take DIY route to create easily accessible mounting in the car for it. Though it can fit in most of the cubby holes available in the cars. Like door side pockets, cup holders, other cubby holes around gear level etc. I keep it in glove box.

Important thing is how our mind reacts during panic situation and how quickly we can recall that we even have such tool in the car.

Is the tyre pressure gauge accurate?

I haven't confirmed. It shows few PSI of difference when I measure the pressure after topping up the air. Sometimes negative and sometimes positive difference at different air bunks. Air bunks aren't frequently calibrated so they have chances of error. And IMO accuracy is not that important, rather its the consistency which is more important when we are using such tool personally.

Suppose it shows 30psi as 32psi. We fill and measure the air and feel that the air is on lower side during our drive, we can again top up by 2psi more. Now air pressure is 34psi according to our tool and pressure feels good to us. Now we can set 34psi reading of our tool as a benchmark and always can make sure that we are filling 34psi according to our gauge in the tyres. Reading of different air bunk meters won't be consistent, there will be lot of difference between different air pressure bunks and we can't rely on them.

[Ironhide]

[quote=tbppjpr;3524717]Ergonomics are good .......... [quote]


Thanks for the quick reply ! That really put paid to a lot of niggling doubts


Cheers !