Supreme Court Of India says if the airbags do not deploy, the car manufacturer should be subject to punitive damages
A Supreme Court bench led by Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Aniruddha Bose said that the capacity of a car manufacturer should be considered a factor to compute punitive damages. The court was hearing a case filed by the owner of the Hyundai Creta. The owner alleged that the airbags of the Creta failed to deploy in an accident.
What happened in the accident?
The customer filed a complaint against Hyundai
The owner of the Hyundai Creta filed a complaint against the company in 2017. According to him, he bought the Creta 1.6 VTVT SX+ variant on August 21, 2015. After two years, on November 16, 2017, the SUV met with an accident on the Delhi-Panipat highway.
According to the owner, the airbags in the Hyundai Creta failed to open, which caused injuries to the occupants of the vehicle. The owner said that he suffered head, chest and dental trauma because the airbags did not deploy.
Supreme Court On The Compensation
The airbags of the Hyundai Creta did not open in an accident
The Supreme Court asked Hyundai to take the charge. The owner complained about a defect in the vehicle. The Supreme Court ordered a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for medical expenses and a loss of income of Rs 50,000. The court also asked Hyundai to give an additional Rs 50,000 to the customer for the mental agony.
The Supreme Court bench said that consumer is under an impression that the airbags will deploy automatically when the vehicle meets with an accident.
The court also said that the top manufacturers shy away from responsibilities by countering that the speed of the vehicle and force of impact of the accident is not high enough to trigger the sensors of the airbags for deployment.
In such cases, the consumer is not an expert to calculate the speed of the vehicle.
Why do airbags fail to open?
Supreme Court of India asked Hyundai to pay Rs.3 lakhs to the customer of a faulty Creta
Airbags create a small blast while opening, which can injure the occupants. Manufacturers take extra precautionary steps to prevent this. For example, airbags open only when a vehicle is at a certain speed. Also, the angle of impact is important. The airbags do not open if the sensors of the airbags do not detect the crash. Also, many manufacturers do not activate the airbags until the passenger wears a seatbelt.
Do you think the Hyundai Creta is a safe car? Do let us know in the comments below.
Keyword: Hyundai To Pay Rs 3 Lakh To The Owner Of Faulty Creta : Supreme Court