August 16, 2013: In what could be termed as a major setback for India’s biggest car selling company Maruti Suzuki, its largest and bestselling car ‘Alto K10’ has scored zero in crash test conducted recently by Latin NCAP.
Alto K10 which is being sold now in South America had to go through a crash test and an independent body Latin NCAP which assess the safety of cars for Caribbean and Latin American region has come out with this finding. Latin NCAP after
the crash test reports that, “The protection offered to the driver head was poor and for this reason the star capping was applied. Driver’s chest protection was weak due to contact with the steering wheel. The passengers’ knees could impact with dangerous structures in the dashboard like the Tran fascia tube.
There were negative remarks against the bodyshell of Alto K10 as well. It was said in the report that, “The bodyshell was rated as unstable. The bodyshell was not capable of withstanding any further loading.” Though the crash test was done for Alto K10 which did not have ABS and air bags but when we go through the video it suggests that even if the car had these features as the chassis is structurally weak, there is only a remote chance that an occupant will survive such a crash.
In what can be termed as ironical, Tata Nano which is smaller than Alto K10 and also economical had scored better that Alto K10 in the crash test done in 2009. The chassis and design of Nano is said to be better than Alto K10.
With Alto scoring zero out of a maximum of five stars, fingers are being pointed on how safe is the car and how manufacturers are going on selling these type of cars in India. There are still many a car models which has not undergone a crash test till now. With the government also not enforcing crash test or making it mandatory, questions remain on the safety of cars and its occupants that ply on Indian roads. Questions also remain on whether it is ethical for companies to sell models which are not safe even though some spot ABS and Air Bags. But even if a car has ABS and Air Bags, are the occupants safe?
Watch the video of Alto K10 crash test conducted by Latin NCAP
[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaY1zdgeiQI[/youtube]
