VW India selling Polos without airbags

[sVWatt]

This saddens me that a global firm has double standards where safety is concerned.

BBC News - Popular Indian cars fail crash tests

[vdubmotorworx]

Thats just crazy...VDUB...

[wai]

The bottom line is that no matter who the company is, they will always minimise their costs and maximise their profits. This is why they build cars where they do. It's cheaper because of lower pollution standards, or workplace health and safety standards, or workers compensation requirements, or in this case vehicle occupant safety standards.

You don't have to go that far. We have had a number of manufacturers withdraw models from the Australian market because of mandatory ESP now required on vehicles. Those manufacturers built down to the minimum they had to at the time. When the regulations required they upgrade, they chose to leave. It's the same in India. Until the Indian government makes that choice, VW and every other car maker there will have to decide whether they want to implement the safety features offered around the world, or just offer those that are required by law.

It doesn't make it right.

[team_v]

When you consider the average wage in India, it actually makes sense that they try to bring the costs down as much as possible to get people into a car.
It would still be safer than riding a bike/moto.

[Dubba]

I dont see anything wrong with this....

[wai]

What's probably more concerning is that the Productivity Commission is considering "parallel imports" of cars, and guess which one of the source countries is? India, as it is a major manufacturer of RHD cars.

Now you have a situation where a car can be offered here that looks like the one with all the safety features, but does not actually have them.

[brad]

What's probably more concerning is that the Productivity Commission is considering "parallel imports" of cars, and guess which one of the source countries is? India, as it is a major manufacturer of RHD cars.

Now you have a situation where a car can be offered here that looks like the one with all the safety features, but does not actually have them.

The parallel import would still have to comply with ADRs & minimum safety requirements.

[wai]

The parallel import would still have to comply with ADRs & minimum safety requirements.

The discussion this morning seemed to imply that they might not. I know there has been an issue with personally imported vehicles where not all ADRs are complied with.

[h100vw]

A mate of mine brought in a MK1 GTI and they made him fit side intrusion bars to it. Australia being the only country on the planet where they were factory fitted in a MK1.

I can't see any chance of an Indian supplied car making it onto the street here without airbags. If they do, the first death in an accident would stop it overnight.

[brad]

Personal import != parallel import.

According to one of the motoring writers that was having a rave about bicycles the other day, we don't need all that safety stuff in cars anyway because bicycles are so dangerous. I couldn't quite get the link myself. Maybe he's owns shares in one of the potential parallel import companies - LOL

[Ideo]

I'm finding it hard to care.

The car meets the requirements of the market. If people want airbags they can get them as far as I can tell. If they don't that is their choice as a consumer.

it's getting ridiculous here. Every single acronym of nonsense required to cater for the lowest common denominator driver. The mindset becomes it's ok, the car will get me out of trouble if things go wrong.

[polski_ogurek]

I'm finding it hard to care.

The car meets the requirements of the market. If people want airbags they can get them as far as I can tell. If they don't that is their choice as a consumer.

it's getting ridiculous here. Every single acronym of nonsense required to cater for the lowest common denominator driver. The mindset becomes it's ok, the car will get me out of trouble if things go wrong.

Well Said.

Are we really that crap drivers that we can't own a vehicle without an airbag or ABS, 20 years ago only the super expensive cars had these features. And I'd like to point out that vehicles are designed to pass the NCAP tests, not real life circumstances.

Airbags are a sales Gimmick which as a population we like in our cushioned worlds. My mates a crash repairer, and reckons that airbags work maybe 50% of the time when they're supposed to. Too many go off in small bingles and not enough in more serious accidents.

Just my 2c

[Diesel_vert]

Active safety is as important as passive safety because some accidents may be caused or contributed by factors beyond the control of the driver.

The role of active safety devices is to reduce the severity of injuries which may cause death, which is vastly preferable to the injuries that may be sustained through the devices themselves - yes, getting hit by an airbag that's working as intended can hurt, but it's better than the alternative.

(However, physics dictates there are limits to which a human can survive sudden deceleration forces - from a physiological point of view, we are so ridiculously weak and fragile it's laughable).

Having said that, in a completely free economy, the market dictates what active or passive safety devices are available on a vehicle.

Of course, factors such as wealth, purchasing power, education, government regulation, culture, ethics, etc, etc, can have various influences on the market - some positive, some negative.

The Indian market is what it is, but it's not likely to remain as it is indefinitely

[sVWatt]

With p!ss poor driving standards and crappy roads without proper barrier guards between dual carriage ways, I'd opt for an air bagged car every time.

If India enacted a law stating new cars must have airbags, you'd quickly find VW and others complying. Why? Because India is a massive market.

Airbags are no more a gimmick than seatbelts. Both have been proven to reduce injuries and ultimately save lives.

Safety should not be the domain of the well healed.

[Diesel_vert]

Safety should not be the domain of the well healed.

No, but it often is - until either the consumer or the government (but rarely the corporation) decide to act.

Speaking of well heeled, I for instance, can't quite afford a 2014 Mercedes-Benz S500, even if I am now well healed of my injuries.