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Government figures for deaths involving car passengers show around 1,800 fatalities in the UK compared to around 2,600 in 1980 – a drop of 30%. However, it is estimated that a further 40% reduction to around 1,100 could be achieved if every car on the road was built to the safety levels of the five-star Renaults, reducing fatalities in accidents that happen above 40mph where most deaths occur. Lower speed accidents usually only involve injuries. And just to show how safe a Renault is, the BBC’s Top Gear programme decided to perform its own crash test – with a human at the wheel instead of a dummy. It was the first-ever live crash test to be conducted by a TV programme using a real driver rather than a crash test dummy. The programme chose the new Megane – the only five-star car in the lower-medium family hatch market – for the test. Co-presenter Richard Hammond says: “Family cars like the Megane are bought by people because of their great design, level of equipment or comfort for example. But how many buyers think about the safety features of a car when they buy one? We on Top Gear wanted to remind people that safety should be one of the top reasons for a family carbuying decision. So we decided to crash a new Megane with a real driver – one of our regular stunt drivers – behind the wheel into the side of another car. “It is an all too common event, but what we wanted to show is what it means for a human driver to crash in a safe car, like the Megane. The added advantage was that we could get live feedback from our driver about what it felt like to hit another car at around 30mph. The results were just amazing and prove how strong a five-star Euro NCAP car is.” The Scenic is the latest Renault model to achieve a fivestar Euro NCAP rating. Tested in July this year, the second generation of Renault’s compact MPV, which went on sale in the UK in September, scored 34.12 points out of 37, making it the safest compact MPV. The tests, which were carried out under laboratory conditions and in various impact configurations, covering 80% of real-life accident situations, saw no part of the body suffering serious injury.
Such performance illustrates Renault’s expertise in the area of safety, a strategic objective to which the manufacturer devotes a budget of some €100m and the efforts of almost 600 specialists each year. The all-new structure of Scenic was designed to be reactive in the event of impact, in other words to absorb the energy while turning the cabin into a survival cell that protects the occupants against intrusion by any mechanical unit. Control of the paths travelled by the units and components within the engine compartment results in maximum compaction of the front mass, without penetrating the cabin. This overall control of deformation allows the deceleration suffered by the occupants to be reduced, along with the risk of injury that can result from any uncontrolled intrusion. To equal the Euro NCAP result of the new Megane while taking account of differences in its weight and layout, the structure of new Scenic has been strengthened in three strategic areas: the front pillars were made larger to ensure the transfer of longitudinal loads into the door beams and the sill sections; an anti-rotation system was also added to the pillar to limit any risk of the front door separating during an impact; and the sill section was stiffened with additional reinforcement thus allowing the maximum transfer of load once the wheel contacted the sill. The same strategy of compaction, of programmed deformation and of anti-intrusion was applied to the rear impact case. The fuel tank is housed in a zone that is rendered non-deformable thanks to the strength of the sills, protected against all impact or compression by the underbody members. To protect the occupants in a side impact, the new Scenic is equipped with a very stiff centre pillar with programmed articulation. This arrangement protects the occupants by bringing the padding built into the door panels into action in the most efficient way, while limiting intrusion into the cabin. The side zone is also made safer by the doubling of the thickness of the centre pillar and of the roof cross-member. To these are added a strengthening ring around the centresection and anti-intrusion beams in the doors. A perfect balance was sought between the energy-absorbing ability of the structure and the means of occupant retention. The new Scenic is equipped with the third-generation Renault System for Restraint and Protection. This system equips the front seats with airbags with two levels of inflation, and safety belts with double pretensioners to prevent occupants “submarining” under the safety belts and improve lower limb protection. The adaptability of the system allows it to adjust the deployment of the various safety features according to the violence of the impact. The front seat load limiters are therefore set at 400kg plus - an original feature of the new Scenic and new Megane – a pelvic load limiter set at 600kg. Studies of real-world accidents involving new Renault models show a total absence of submarining, a phenomenon responsible for serious abdominal injuries. New Scenic is also equipped with two thorax side airbags built into the seats for the front occupants, and two curtain-type airbags intended to protect the heads of both front and rear occupants, whether children or adults. All back seats are equipped with three-point safety belts with 600kg load limiters, and pretensioners for the side seats. These are also fitted with three-point Isofix anchorages for the installation of child safety seats facing either forwards or rearwards. Meanwhile, when the new Espace was tested earlier this year it achieved the highest-ever Euro NCAP crash test score – 35.11 points out of a maximum 37 – making it the safest car on the road as tested by Euro NCAP.
Active safety systems fitted to Renault models include ABS, Emergency Brake Assist – which helps the driver boost braking power to its fullest extent in an emergency situation – and ESP, which allows the driver to retain control of the car in the event of loss of grip, in an emergency manoeuvre, avoiding an obstacle, swerving or over- or under-steering. Renault also offers systems to help make drivers more responsible. These include the seatbelt reminder, with a sound alarm in addition to a dashboard warning light, and an ESP warning light that comes on when the system comes into operation in a bend to alert drivers that their speed is inappropriate. Similarly, the programmable speed limiter, introduced on the Laguna in 2001, has been carried over to almost the entire Renault range either as standard or as an option. Drivers programme in a speed they do not wish to exceed. If they try to do so, the accelerator pedal becomes inoperative. If required, forcing the pedal down beyond a point of resistance at the end of its travel will override the speed limit programmed, then once the manoeuvre is complete, the limiter function becomes operational again. Drawing on the accident research database compiled by the Laboratory for Accident Research, Biomechanics and Study of Human Behaviour based on the study of real-world accidents, Renault has continuously developed innovative, high-performance systems to help prevent accidents, correct vehicle handling and protect occupants in the event of an impact. As a result, Renault’s principle of “Safety for All” involves guaranteeing all occupants, front and rear, the same degree of safety in both small and large cars. “Safety for All” is the driving force behind all Renault’s design and development programmes as well as all its other activities from customer care to community relations. The winning of the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award not only reflects the manufacturer’s work in making some of the safest cars on the road today, but also Renault’s running of its “Safety Matters” schools education programme. As £50m is earmarked to reduce congestion caused by the daily school run, Renault says that children’s road safety schemes like its “Safety Matters” programme are now more important than ever. The “Safety Matters” programme has taken the road safety message to 15,000 primary schools across the UK. The project has been running in primary schools around Europe for the last three years with the aim of promoting responsible behaviour from the earliest age and creating potentially responsible drivers by making them more aware of the dangers of the road. The Safety Matters programme includes a website – www.safetymatters.renault.co.uk – intended for children, parents and teachers.
Renault managing director Philippe Talou-Derible says he accepted the Award on behalf of all the people at Renault who made safety central to everything the company did, and adds: “It recognises our efforts to make roads safer for motorists and pedestrians alike and highlights the fact that Renault is in the vanguard of motorindustry thinking about safety.” Crucially, Renault says, it is determined to immediately extend innovative features to its whole model line-up and not restrict the technology to top-of-the-range cars. As the most star-studded manufacturer in Euro NCAP history and, for nearly 50 years, Renault has made safety a strategic priority as it seeks to constantly introduce innovative approaches to push back the limits and enhance the safety of its products. |
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