Are central locking systems for cars safe?

gobble

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2008
Messages
5,348
Points
113
Location
Bangalore
I heard of fatalities due to water jamming central locking system on flooded streets, and recently a BMW in Ahemdabad hit a trailer and all the occupants perished because they could not get out of the flaming car due to the same reason.
Now this :8 occupants of SUV charred to death - Lucknow - City - The Times of India
Bless thier souls.

So the question is - should one go for auto-locking system for ones car?

Regards
 
Central locking systems do not necessarily lock the car when it is moving, so I think your question is too general.

Personally, I do not see the need to have doors locked while driving anyway. Many people feel insecure without it, fear of robbers at traffic signals etc, so many people manually lock their cars while driving.
 
if u feel it is unsafe than u can use gear lock comes at 1k and took more time compare to auto lock to make lock dismental
 
Doesn't manual override work always?

In the cases of accidents, fire or kinetic force damage the electrical circuits. Dont know about manual override. In any case keeping a small hammer in the glove compartment is a good idea.

Regards
 
OK!

i have the answer -

either -

buy and use -

a modern volvo -

or ride a bicycle/motorised bicycle/ motorcycle/scooter/open-topped coupe.

the volvo has a fail-safe mechanism that opens all doors on impact.
 
OK!

i have the answer -

either -

buy and use -

a modern volvo -

or ride a bicycle/motorised bicycle/ motorcycle/scooter/open-topped coupe.

the volvo has a fail-safe mechanism that opens all doors on impact.

Does it also eject passengers on impact?

Regards
 
Personally I have come across accidents where the doors have jammed on impact. This includes a Merc C Class.
You can immobilize the central locking from automatically locking the doors .
If you are one who carries laptop and stuff in the rear seat you can set it to lock only the rear door on some units.
 
Doors often get stuck on impact. Even in my small crash a couple of weeks ago, the driver's door was hard to open because the wing had been deformed and pushed back onto it. Of course, nothing that would have impeded a rescue, but it makes one think what might happen in something that is bad enough to deform the car frame.

In UK, rescue teams carry powerful hydraulic or pneumatic shears which just slice through the car frames, after which they just lift off the roof. Like opening a can.
 
In UK, rescue teams carry powerful hydraulic or pneumatic shears which just slice through the car frames, after which they just lift off the roof. Like opening a can.

Sadly Thad, in my long distance drives from Chennai to various parts of Tamil Nadu & Kerala, I have never seen rescue teams reach an accident on time in India , let alone carry pneumatic shears...
 
That doesn't surprise me. As another Indian friend of mine put it, here you have to be three times lucky: lucky to survive the crash; lucky to be taken out of vehicle without permanent paralysis, if you have head, neck or back injury, and lucky to get the right hospital treatment.

I follow this Team-BHP thread so that I don't forget how dangerous driving here can be.
 
That doesn't surprise me. As another Indian friend of mine put it, here you have to be three times lucky: lucky to survive the crash; lucky to be taken out of vehicle without permanent paralysis, if you have head, neck or back injury, and lucky to get the right hospital treatment.

I follow this Team-BHP thread so that I don't forget how dangerous driving here can be.

If it is any consolation Thad, driving in Dubai can be and is equally dangerous. Similar to the Ford Ikon splitting into two in the TeamBHP thread, here in Dubai I have seen pictures in local news papers where a Mercedes S 500 was split into two and the front part was completely mangled up. This happened last year when the driver of the Mercedes drove through a new tunnel to the airport that had just opened, lost control driving & turning at 150 KM/hour and hit a huge pillar that supports the road above. Horrible crash.

I have my weekly quota of scary moments when driving to work & back - drivers cutting you off with just a feet of gap between both cars, drivers driving at 140 Km/H lining up couple of meters behind you (I do not go beyond 110-120 Km/h) and flashing headlights asking for way in a jam packed four way lane and what not..If there is one thing I hate in Dubai, it's driving. With the kind of cars we can afford to buy here and the fantastic road infrastructure, its unfortunate that I hate what should be a perfectly enjoyable routine.
 
Actually there are some cars which have a central locking system built such that it would automatically lock all doors once the vehicle has crossed a specific speed limit. I am not talking of exotics either. Even a Skoda Hatchback like the Fabia has it.

I will not say that it is a hazard or anything. Quite the opposite.

And there are many cars which open all locks and cut petrol supply off on impact. The only thing I am not so sure of is about water jamming the central locking. Not sure how that can happen.

I mean if you see water seeping in, you will stop and check right?
 
thekinge, I had no idea that things were that bad in Dubai! Recently I visited Singapore, and the traffic discipline is astounding.

thevortex, there has to be some distrust of electric based systems, I guess. I know what you mean about the auto-locking feature; I think it is quite common in foreign cars --- but can it be failsafe?
 
Thad - operating with that philosophy - I dont think anybody can trust their tyres not to burst or their power steering not to become jammed when they are going at over 120 clicks an hour on a highway! :)

I guess driving in India has to give you either a spiritual quality or a murderous quality. Perhaps both. And in between all this who has the time to worry about silly, little, mechanical and electrical malfunctions? :)
 
Actually there are some cars which have a central locking system built such that it would automatically lock all doors once the vehicle has crossed a specific speed limit. I am not talking of exotics either. Even a Skoda Hatchback like the Fabia has it.

I will not say that it is a hazard or anything. Quite the opposite.

And there are many cars which open all locks and cut petrol supply off on impact. The only thing I am not so sure of is about water jamming the central locking. Not sure how that can happen.

I mean if you see water seeping in, you will stop and check right?

I heard of a story where a car got stuck in a traffic jam on a water-logged road in one of the big cities of India.The exhaust got covered and the carbon monoxide seeped back into the car, the doors got jammed and either the windows would not roll down or they did not realise they had to open the windows manually. Guess, the minds of the occupants got foggy due to the carbon-monoxide. They passed away in the car.

In any case, there are instances where cars roll of bridges or curves and into canals and there is no backing off there. A Hammer is a must.

Regards
 
Buy from India's official online dealer!
Back
Top