Spare a Thought for Safety:
SAFETY TAKES A BACK-SEAT IN INDIA IN ANYTHING AND
everything, be it four people on a two-wheeler or sending your child to school in an auto-rickshaw with 10 other kids. The list of instances where we throw caution to the wind and put our lives on the line on a daily basis would fi ll up the whole magazine. That, however, does not mean that we should not make our cars safer. The manufacturers keep saying that we don’t need anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and airbags because our driving speeds are not comparable to those in the so-called developed countries. It is high time the government made crash-tests, ABS and airbags mandatory. If these safety norms are enforced, most of the topselling cars will cease to exist as they will not pass the frontal crash test in the absence of crumple zones. Forget the cars that have been on Indian roads for the past 20 years, even today manufacturers are launching new cars that do not comply with any sort of crash test.
In the name of cost and providing cheap transport manufacturers keep producing cars that are not safe. I am sure they will not put their own loved ones in such cars. Today we have only two manufacturers in India – Toyota and Volkswagen – who have airbags in all the cars they manufacture, regardless of the trim level.
EDITOR – ASPI BHATHENA
