The French court fined Swedish carmaker Volvo a sum of 200,000 Euros because allegedly the faulty brakes of a Volvo 850 TDI caused an accident which claimed two lives and injured one.
The accident happened nearly a decade ago in June 1999 in Wasselone, northeast France. It involved a schoolteacher who was 49 years old at the time. The schoolteacher knocked into three children on a pavement with her Volvo 850 TDI.
The schoolteacher was fined 300 Euros, send to jail for six months and got her driving license suspended for a year. She claimed that her Volvo 850 TDI’s brakes felt rigid and she could not stop in time.
Volvo is appealing against the court decision and rejects the theory that the accident was caused by a mechanical defect on the Volvo 850 TDI. It’s quite interesting to observe how the law system works in truly developed countries.
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Nine years ago? wow…crazy…lolz..Volvo must be like:”WTF?”
First!!
It gives ownership to the problem.
We have all sorts of recalls on cars because of this. The manufacturers are liable for damages (in additional to a tarnished reputation) that they are more willing to fix issues with thier products.
This is called product liability. They sell you a lemon, they have to fix it….and if thier lemon hurts others, they have to be liable as well.
For example, my Eclipse’s transfer case has a lifetime warranty from Mitsu. Even when its almost 15 years old, and even if the transfer case has already been replaced by Mitsu (or in my case Chrysler).
This is due to a defective seal design and a failure of which can cause a 4 wheel lockup on highway speeds.
I can see where this is going. I would be royally pissed if my cars brake booster suddenly failed and I mowed down a few school children. Its not something you can predict or something you can prevent. Of course if its due to due neglect (which in most cases is rue), then obviously the driver/owner is at fault.
Sorry to bring this up, but I can’t imagine how Proton will suffer this kind of lawsuit due to us take-for-granted Malaysians
If this law can be granted, I gonna see a lot of people who went into accident in Malaysia will sue bangkrap many local car manufacturer… lolz…
razor_clawzz, there have been cases as well in malaysia where proton invoked the ‘lemon law’ and replaced new cars for their customers. i’ve also known of a friend who had something on his proton fixed out of warranty as well due to a manufacturer defect free of charge. So i think your singling out proton is a little unfair. all car manufacturers have problems and defects, even toyota. i even know of people with new bmws who cant even get their car fixed properly under warranty.
Fair enough not to single proton out, but I have heard many instances that Proton’s warranty repair is horrible. Many had to wait weeks to get thier car repaired under warranty. My staff’s Saga had a clutch failure and the qouted time was 3 weeks!!! Untirely unacceptable. Also another good family friend had a Waja blow its engine on the first day, but needed 1 month to get a spare engine.
Most jsut foot the bil and get it repaired outside.
In other countries, if you car is indeed a lemon, and its stuck in the shop, they will give you a loaner or a rental. I don’t think this happens here.
Obviously its not as simple as it sounds, the courts have to prove that the crash is in due fault of the vehicle and not due to the driver, poor maintenance or the “hand of god”.
And even if it was the people’s fault (ie. Firestone/Ford vs. the people – tyres were prone to failure if unporperly inflated) they still opted to settle most of the class actions out of courts. Dragging them into the courts will only tarnish the manufacturer’s reputation.
HI BanyakMasukWorkshop,
Thanks, and I do know what you’re saying :) What I was trying to say (I’ve never been specific) is that most of Proton owners are not heavy nitpickers, and especially if the mass community suddenly decided to be (Malaysians are known for strong ‘brotherhood’ spirit), then imagine how Proton will have to filter out genuine claims and what not :) No offence intended yah. Of course, all manufacturers have gone through this, but Proton isn’t as likable as the other brands you mentioned :(
Let’s not forget about some of our so called bus manufacturers, reports from various newspaper states that they used mild steel as the main structure of the bus, so don’t just blame on proton.
There are some reputable local bus manufacturers though, such as Badanbas (which produces bus for Transnasional) and Scania Malaysia (Maraliner).
don’t worry, Volvo cars always very reliable……
Ouch! Volvo should have settled the case long time ago. Now their image as the safest car has been tarnished.
Lots of people will be suing P1, P2 for faulty car parts causing some of them to die. Like exhaust leakage into cabin
stupid french…
years ago stuff still wanna talk bout it…
don’t like ma don’t buy lor…
Accountability and responsibility are values that are lost in Malaysia.
At least as this case succinctly point out,there is a legal recourse in this case and the laws recognize that in some cases accountability is recognized and valued. In Malaysia we have been sanitised with a ‘lackadaisical’ tidak apa attitude so much so that a blown engine and a clutch that takes 3 weeks to replace is accepted.
Just like having the same government since independence, we allow ourselves to be content with acceptance of this mediocrity. We must change before we are left behind, can you tell me which major automotive manufacturer has decided to have its major plant in Malaysia? At least we had an opportunity with VW but looks like even that possibility will not happen.
My point is how much is enough? Are we thinking adults or mediocre juveniles that need parental guidance, time and time again accidents due to negligence and safety mishaps are the norm. This sense of malaise and acceptance has just stupefied our community into acceptance of mediocre standards in our automotive industry.
There is no shame in acceptance – only with ownership can we be an agent of change, we must accept that our automotive industry has stifled growth and led to stagnation.Our products have a very narrow perspective, we only believe in GLOCAL and not GLOBAL, look at KIA & Hyundai, they’re even giving the Japanese a run for their money, they are no different from Proton.
I will never buy a Proton again in my life as I do not believe in mediocrity and supporting a hegemony that deprives Malaysian of a commercial,competitive and choice-based auto industry – we are to blame for supporting this mediocrity, this acceptance of the current standards, from pricing/taxation to standards and the shift of auto manufacturing to Thailand,Indonesia,India etc Thailand, is now far ahead in terms of industry and automanufacturing-new car launches and models are first launched and seen in Thailand.Where were they when we first launched the SAGA?
I know a lot of you can say that we have no choice as Proton provides for the masses, but have you thought for a change that if everyone stops buying today- a mediocre product – what will eventually happen? Simple really, we will suffer for 10/20 years but eventually…..the auto industry will change in Malaysia. Cars will become cheaper, there will be no argument of APkings,protectionist measures and best of all – competitive auto standards would bring an open car market. We will have better choices,cheaper and affordable models which are truly similiar to our neighbouring countries with competitive rates/pricing. Best of all – we might have a recourse to the courts for punitive damages caused by mechanical failures and negligence.
This is not a panacea to right our ailing auto industry but an acceptance that we have failed to create jobs,sustain competitiveness and provide SMI’s that produce for world class automotive standards,this is merely an opinion that we could have been…….only if we believe & practice collectively a change towards values of open markets,competitive standards and fair-play.
We have only ourselves to blame if we slip into obscurity in this great industry and fail to be relevant anymore. We started brilliantly but somewhere in this midst – our pride and egos got in the way, we were much ahead of SEA neighbours but today VW & other manufacturers(Daimler,Toyota,Ford,Honda) look elsewhere for business-that is an inescapable fact! Wake up Malaysia before its too late…….