In the last couple of years, Tata Motors has gone a long way towards enhancing vehicle safety. It was the first automaker to bring to market a car—the Nexon—that was awarded a flawless 5-star safety rating, and several that followed have achieved the same status. Recently, one Tata Safari owner posted on the TeamBHP forum, lauding the safety features of his SUV. Though the vehicle was totally flipped over and mangled, those features helped him stay alive.
The owner described that he was driving on a national road at night with low beams on, and all of a sudden, he faced a tractor trolley with sugarcane. While trying to avoid an accident, he hard turned the Safari to the right, and then crashed into a huge tree stump protruding from the middle of the road, making the SUV turn over.
Photos posted by the owner indicated that the whole front of the Tata Safari Dark Edition was ruined, with additional damage evident on the right side—the site of first contact with the stump. The photos also indicated that all of the airbags, front and side, had gone off. While the owner bruised his body from the airbag inflation and seatbelt tightening (including a fractured rib), he didn’t incur any serious, life-threatening injuries.
Talking about the safety features, the owner added that the co-driver and driver compartments were intact and no intrusion into the occupant compartment was observed from the engine compartment. The steering linkages folded in a folded manner so that they did not intrude into the cabin, and the engine mounts also fractured and bent upwards, keeping the engine and other mechanical parts out of the survival cell. Although the Safari was totally wrecked, the integrity of the occupant survival cell was not compromised.
Speaking with appreciation, the owner thanked Tata Motors‘ engineers, platform designers, and management for prioritizing safety over cost-cutting. He admitted that their diligence was seen in a moment of crisis and eventually saved his life.