On September 4, 2022 local time, Cyrus Mistry, former chairman of India's Tata Group, was killed in a traffic accident in maharashtra, India.
From the photos at the scene, the vehicle that Mistery was riding in at the time was a Mercedes-Benz GLC220 diesel version SUV. Although the front of the vehicle was seriously damaged, the airbags and side air curtains in the car had successfully detonated, and the occupant compartment had not undergone serious deformation.
It is reported that at the time of the incident, Mistri and another passenger sat in the back seat, but did not wear a seat belt, which may also be the main cause of his death. It is mandatory to wear seat belts for rear passengers under Indian law.
If the occupants of the car do not wear seat belts, the role of the airbags will be greatly reduced. Data show that using only airbags and not seat belts can reduce accident mortality by about 18%, while using only seat belts without airbags can reduce accident mortality by about 42%, and if the two are used together, accident mortality can be reduced by about 47%.
The data shows that the number of car accident deaths in India reached 155,000 in 2021, a record high. The country has the highest number of car crash deaths in the world, with an average of one person dying in less than 4 minutes.
Earlier this year, the Indian government proposed that from October this year, passenger cars approved for marketing in India must be mandatorily equipped with six airbags, including head air curtains and side airbags.
The Indian billionaire Mistri, who lost his life in the crash, had a net worth of about $10 billion in 2018 and was the chairman of India's Tata Group. The Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, founded by the Mistery family, has a net worth of about $30 billion and holds about 18 percent of the Tata Group.