Air bags for the poor?

[kent]

I just ran across this and thought I'd share it.

Wow!

Mexico's booming car industry selling unsafe cars

RAMOS ARIZPE, Mexico (AP) - In Mexico's booming auto industry, the cars rolling off assembly lines may look identical, but how safe they are depends on where they're headed.

Vehicles destined to stay in Mexico or go south to the rest of Latin America carry a code signifying there's no need for antilock braking systems, electronic stability control, or more than two air bags, if any, in its basic models.

If the cars will be exported to the United States or Europe, however, they must meet stringent safety laws, including as many as six to 10 air bags, and stability controls that compensate for slippery roads and other road dangers, say engineers who have worked in Mexico-based auto factories.

Some stats:

In 2011, nearly 5,000 drivers and passengers in Mexico died in accidents, a 58 percent increase since 2001, according to the latest available data from the country's transportation department. Over the same decade, the U.S. reduced the number of auto-related fatalities by 40 percent. The death rate in Mexico, when comparing fatalities with the size of the car fleet, is more than 3.5 times that of the U.S.

money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20131128&id=17151502

[mtman]

All those extra features cost money......People in Mexico and other Latin American country probably cant afford them.

[swamp]

Stupid meddling US government and their safety requirements. 

[Deleted]

Cars aren't "unsafe", just the people driving them.

[mtman]

Article say the cars destined for USA and Europe are built to our standards.....None of our business how they build cars for themselves.

[workpublic]

do they have the same rates of accidents? or more?

In 2011, nearly 5,000 drivers and passengers in Mexico died in accidents, a 58 percent increase since 2001

what was the increase in drivers/cars between 2001 and 2011?

[justme]

If you read the article, for some cars they are charging the same amount of money in Mexico as the do in the US, just turning off the features in the car's computer. One example in the article had it selling for $2000 less in the US but with all the safety features.

From the article, it seems everyone is selling in Latin America because the consumers don't require/want to safety features. If the government said they had to, they'd sell the cars with those features. I wonder whether it's them not wanting it or not knowing the features exist? In other words, I think the government could get rid of a lot of required safety features in the US, but consumers would still demand it because they want more safety. The airbags the come down on the door side aren't required (that I know of), yet a lot of cars come with them because consumers want them and will buy a car with them before they'll buy one without them. Hell, my rather basic model car has them.

[Deleted]

I still drive my 1990 Chevrolet diesel P/U almost daily during the warmer months.  It has none of the more recent safety add ons (air bags, head restraints, etc.). At 48,000 miles not even a door ding.  The driver accounts for the biggest % of safe use of any vehicle.  Don't believe me, contact your insurance company.

[EVT1]

Nov 29, 2013 12:41:11 GMT -5 mtman said:

All those extra features cost money......People in Mexico and other Latin American country probably cant afford them.

So do pharmaceuticals- we should let them die.