In other countries, all mass-market cars are mandated to undergo rigorous crash-test procedures before they are sold. This is, unfortunately, not the case in India. Many of the cars sold today don’t have an official crash test rating, and they don’t need one to continue selling. This lack of focus on safety puts many in danger. A car with a zero-star rating is essentially a moving box, shaped like a car.
But the interesting thing is that these zero-rated cars may be safer than what they are touted to be. Global NCAP has a policy where it says that to get a minimum of 1 star, the car needs to be fitted with an airbag. You will find that the main mass-market cars tested by NCAP actually have no airbags, as they are the base models.
The Tata Zest got 0 stars for the no airbags version and then 4 stars for the dual airbag version. It It is nice to see manufacturers like Tata and Mahindra put effort into safety. The crash-tested versions of the Marazzo and Nexon were top-end models. But still, more attention should be given to these tests.
But anyway, there are enough cars in the market that are tested, so we can get a lucid idea of the situation in hand.
