YOURS SINCERELY, RATAN N. TATA; MY LETTER TO MR. RATAN TATA AND THE NEED FOR SAFER CARS IN INDIA

Imagine yourself driving (wearing a seatbelt) on an expressway at night around 80 KPH in the left lane (as you should in India) with low beam lights, and suddenly a parked truck appears on the extreme left with no parking lights or even reflectors. Scary? Yes, it is.

It happened to me in 2013 when I was returning from Hyderabad to my home in Mahabubnagar, India. I was a little scared, but more than that, I was irritated by that careless driver who parked without any indication. It’s prohibited to park like that.

A few days later, to survive a boring lecture at college, I started researching this issue and was terrified after seeing the statistics of road accidents in India and how its getting worse each year. In 2013 alone, 1.3 lakh people died in road accidents. This hasn’t changed even today; last year (in 2017), around 1.4 lakh people died. While unsafe driving practices and poor road conditions and obvious, what stuck with me was the inadequate vehicle safety standards that we rarely talk about. 

While there are plenty of campaigns and materials about safe driving, what is often overlooked is the lack of strong safety standards in the auto industry and how little importance is given to crash safety ratings in our country. Some may argue that making safer cars increase costs and put them out of reach for many Indians. But with today’s technology and engineering advances, is it still so difficult to improve vehicle safety while keeping cars affordable? As a mechanical engineering student, this has made me think a lot.

The golden era of Indian automotive scene has begun.

India is among the top five global auto markets, produced around 4 million cars last year. These numbers are expected to grow, making India the third-largest auto market by 2021, according to a McKinsey report. The country has an extremely bright future, both for imports and exports and is moving fast in adopting electric vehicles. Rising living standards and a young population are strong factors contributing to growth in this sector. But what about safety standards? Why the progress on vehicle safety is still lagging and limited mostly to seatbelts, airbags and ABS (antilock breaking system)?

“Kitna deti hai”: India’s fuel economy obsession and Maruti Suzuki (MSIL)'s winning formula to date

A totaled car at a dealership's service centre in my hometown (2014)

This is what happens when a car with poor crash safety performance is involved in an accident. How do you think just airbags and seat belts help when the shell (body) is so weak? For a car to be truly safe, it needs to do two things: prevent a crash from happening and protect passengers if one does occur. 

Generally, safety in cars falls into two categories: crash avoidance and crash protection (or some call it active and passive safety). Crash avoidance, as the name says helps you avoid accidents. These features focus on braking, steering and sensing whats around the car. For instance, ABS (antilock braking system) and EBD (electronic brakeforce distribution) help you maintain control during emergency braking, while features like lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring give you a better awareness of your surroundings. And crash protection features are what save lives when a crash does happen. This is where a car’s strong body structure, crumple zones that absorb impact, and of course, airbags and seat belts all work together, they protect you from injury when a collision is unavoidable. Ultimately, both active and passive safety are essential for a truly safe vehicle.

By the way, can you guess the car in the picture above? It’s often considered India’s most popular sedan and was recently ranked among the world’s top 10 best-selling small cars. It’s the Maruti Suzuki Dzire. Despite the poor safety ratings for almost all cars from this brand, many people choose it for its affordability, reliability, and above all, excellent fuel efficiency. I usually join in many car owner's groups on Facebook and some comments left me puzzled. Below is a screenshot from a conversation in one of the Dzire owners group on Facebook.

Please note that I am not trying to blame the company or its customers, Maruti Suzuki (MSIL) has a great reputation and holds a special place in the hearts of many Indians (including myself) as the family’s first car brand. Today, this brand dominates the Indian car market with over a 50% market share. If Maruti Suzuki commits to producing safer cars, it could influence the entire nation and set a trend that other brands would follow.

Being obsessed with fuel economy is not a silly thing; its important. It not just to save money but also benefits the environment, conserve resources and reduce oil imports. In fact, improving fuel economy has always been one of the highest priorities for car makers globally. They must balance overall quality, safety, performance and comfort while keeping prices effective. The choice of materials and the body structure contribute to the vehicle’s strength, but that doesn’t mean heavier bodies or expensive alloys/composites. Science and technology have advanced to the point where solutions exist for almost every problem we face today.

Just as an example, here is a Formula 1 car concept by Renault showcased at Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in 2017. Notice the honeycomb-like structure in the cockpit area designed to improve crash safety while keeping the body lightweight. Honeycomb structures are not new to the auto industry; they have been used for a long time (mostly for interior components like door panels) as they offer an excellent strength-to-weight ratio and help absorb energy during crashes. If such designs are proven to be effective, why can’t we find similar, cost-effective techniques and adapt them for budget friendly cars to make safety accessible to all?

Advanced materials are going to play a crucial role in automobiles

Renault R.S 2027 Vision concept at IAA, 2017

When I started researching this issue during my third year of mechanical engineering, it really got me thinking. I was already planning for my master's, but this topic moved me so much that I knew I had to focus my education on it. The doodles below are from my ideas book, where I used to brainstorm my thoughts and jot down insights from my research. Though I wasn’t sure how useful or impactful those ideas might be, I didn’t want them to just sit idle in my book. I was looking for ways to share them and connect with like-minded peers, and then I remembered the retirement plans of Mr. Ratan Tata, whom I have admired for years.

Tata Group is one of my favorite and most respected brands, and I follow Mr. Ratan Tata and the group companies closely. At that time, Tata Motors was undergoing a massive revival, and their new cars were showing surprising improvements. I was sure that the company was also prioritizing safety as part of this turnaround. Even after Mr. Ratan Tata retired from the company, I believed he remained involved with Tata Motors due to his passion for automobiles. So, I decided to send him a letter with some of the ideas from my ideas book, out of love, admiration, and respect for the company. Honestly, I didn’t expect a response, but he replied!

In August 2014, I received a letter from Mr. Tata thanking me for my suggestions (yes, he does read and respond to letters, I confirmed this with people close to him.) That letter changed my perspective and gave me the further push to do something meaningful in the automotive industry. As planned, I chose to pursue a master’s degree in material science, focusing primarily on automotive composites and improving crash safety.

Fast forward to today, Tata Motors has indeed prioritized safety in their turnaround strategy and started the safer cars for India revolution (I mean putting it into action). Today, only five Indian-made cars have secured 4 stars in Global NCAP testing, and two of those are from Tata Motors (with one from Maruti Suzuki). That’s the Tata Motors I trust.

Road safety in India is a serious challenge that needs all of us to come together. With more people buying cars every year and the auto industry growing rapidly, it’s more important than ever to focus on stronger safety standards and adopt new technologies that make better cars and save lives on our roads.

Please check the safety ratings of cars when making a purchase, the more people demand safer vehicles, the more companies will adopt these standards.

Thanks for reading. Drive safely!