Safety features constitute an important aspect of automobiles worldwide. Governments across the globe ensure that these safety features are included by the automakers in their respective vehicles. Unfortunately, Pakistan does not have the necessary laws in place to ensure that local auto manufacturers include safety features like airbags. Even if some automakers are including features like airbags in their vehicles, they are doing so by their free will and not under any law that compels them to do so. This is an alarming situation which adversely affects people driving cars and other sorts of vehicles. In case of an accident, airbags and other crucial safety features can save your life.
NCAP Standard
The Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) Standard is being followed worldwide to assess the effectiveness of all the safety features included in a vehicle. The rating shows how much safer you will be in a vehicle in case of an accident. The NCAP basis its ratings on certain features like airbags and ISOFIX points to attach a child seat. Such kind of a standard has not been made mandatory by the government for automakers in Pakistan.
If we compare the big three automakers of Pakistan (Suzuki, Honda, and Toyota), we can see that Toyota is providing the most secure vehicles in Pakistan. This is because Toyota includes most of the contemporary safety features in its vehicles. All the variants of Corolla from Xli to Altis Grande come with dual airbags. On the other hand, Honda City, Suzuki Wagon R and Suzuki Swift still do not have airbags.
ELR, ALR, and ISOFIX
The Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) is a safety feature related to seat belts of your car. ELR locks the seat belt in case of a collision or a sudden stop so that you do not hit the steering wheel or the dashboard. However, under normal circumstances, it allows the passenger to move around freely. The Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) helps to lock the child seat in one place so that it does not move around. The ISOFIX feature is another way to lock your child seat in place and is a newer feature compared to the ALR.
Airbag Fraud
In this section, we will tell you how fraud can be committed in the case of airbags. The main purpose behind the inclusion of airbags is to prevent you from a shock or impact in case of a collision. The instrument cluster in your car is the best way to know whether there is a problem with your airbag system or SRS (Supplementary Restraint System). On-board Diagnostic (OBD) system communicates with your instrument cluster to tell you about certain problems in your car. One way in which fraud is being committed is by removing the airbag warning light from the instrument cluster. Therefore, the light will not function when the ignition is on, and you will have no idea about airbag malfunction.
The pad cover that holds the airbag in and is the point from where the airbag is deployed breaks when airbag comes out. In the case of fraud, people replace this pad cover and does not replace the airbag after its deployment. This gives an impression to the buyer that his/her car has an airbag. It does not have an airbag, and such a practice is common with imported cars in Pakistan. A small resistor is also being used to cheat the car’s system so that it does not show airbag warning. Therefore, whenever you are buying a car, especially a used imported one, go through all these thorough checkups to ensure that the airbag is functional so that your life is not in danger.
Tell us about your opinion in the comments section below on safety features and airbag fraud in vehicles. Stay tuned for more informative content regarding vehicles so that you can protect yourself from potential frauds while buying a vehicle in Pakistan.
