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Ever since seat belts became mandatory, vehicle safety for drivers, passengers and pedestrians has improved tremendously. But how do they find out how safe is a new car? They call out the crash test dummies and crash it!
Vehicle safety has grown in leaps and bounds ever since Ralph Nader’s 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed exposed how some American carmakers in the 1960s fixated on lowering cost to the point of creating cars that were simply dangerous to drive. Nader’s book sparked a massive amount of recriminations and counter-recriminations, and ultimately led to the first government legislation on automobile safety. |
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| In the years since vehicle safety has gone from the back seat to the front, so to speak, and has become so important to consumers that some carmakers, Volvo in particular, have consistently stressed their safety heritage. But cars are now being imported from all corners of the world to showrooms near you, and as there’s no single mandatory international safety standard to actually define the minimum safety requirements, how would you, as a consumer, be able to assess how safe is that new car you’re thinking of purchasing? |
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The answer lies in the various new car safety performance programs that not only actively advocate the adoption of new safety technologies, such as the pedestrian airbag, but who also subject new cars to a range of crash tests. Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) is probably the most prominent of theses programs, and was founded in 1997 and backed by the European Union.
In 2011, Euro NCAP assessed 53 new car models, including electric vehicles. While all these cars are available on the European market, Euro NCAP’s ratings are highly sought after in the automotive industry, and many car manufacturers will feature these ratings on similar models brought to your country. Euro NCAP also advocates the adoption of new safety technologies as they develop, such as pedestrian protection systems. |
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To qualify for a Euro NCAP rating, a carmaker has to send a number of production units of a particular car model for a series of testing, including a 64kmh frontal impact test into an offset deformable barrier and a side impact test at 50kmh. Vehicles are rated in for adult protection, child protection, pedestrian protection and safety assist, and the assessment is so vigorous that full 5-Star ratings remain quite rare.
To find out just how safe your next car is, visit Euro NCAP.
In the meantime, here are the safest cars in their categories for 2011:
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Adult Occupant: 94%
Child Occupant: 85%
Pedestrian: 52%
Safety Assist: 86%
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Adult Occupant: 95%
Child Occupant: 87%
Pedestrian: 54%
Safety Assist: 93%
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Adult Occupant: 92%
Child Occupant: 82%
Pedestrian: 72%
Safety Assist: 71%
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The Ford Focus is the first high volume car to receive four rewards for offering optional Active City Stop, Driver Alert, Forward Alert and Lane Keeping Aid.
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Adult Occupant: 97%
Child Occupant: 81%
Pedestrian: 56%
Safety Assist: 86%
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The Mercedes B-Class received a reward for Collision Prevention Assist, and has an Autonomous Emergency (AEB) Braking System
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Adult Occupant: 94%
Child Occupant: 82%
Pedestrian: 64%
Safety Assist: 100%
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The Volvo V60 received a reward for City Safety, and has an Autonomous Emergency (AEB) Braking System
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