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Vehicle manufacturers have been praised for improving driver and passenger safety, but have been criticised again for failing to design cars that reduce the risk of pedestrians suffering serious injury or death in a road accident. The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) delivered the twin verdicts when it unveiled results for phase 15 of the crash test programme. Euro NCAP, the organisation charged with driving “Car Safety for All”, also said it was delighted that smaller cars were becoming safer for their occupants and singled out for praise the Renault Modus – the first supermini to receive a five-star occupant protection rating, thus giving the French marque an unprecedented seventh model to achieve the top score – and the SEAT Altea mini-MPV, which achieved a similar top rating. Of the 13 new models tested and one re-tested, eight vehicles received the maximum five-star rating for occupant safety – apart from the Modus and the Altea, they were the Citroën C4, Ford Focus, BMW 1-Series, Citroën C5, Audi A6 and Volkswagen Touareg. However, no cars received the maximum four-star rating for pedestrian protection and nine of the vehicles tested received “merely” a one-star rating – the Modus, Hyundai Getz, Fiat Panda, Kia Picanto, 1-Series, C5, A6, 5-Series and Touareg – while the C4 and Altea were the only models to be given a three-star rating.In addition, 10 of the models were given the maximum four-star rating for child protection – the Modus, Getz, Picanto, C4, Focus, Skoda Octavia, A6, 5-Series, Altea and Touareg.The dichotomy between occupant protection and pedestrian protection ratings was, said Euro NCAP, particularly stark with the A6, Modus, Touareg and C5. Euro NCAP chairman Claes Tingvall said: “It is a major disappointment that nine of the 14 models tested were worthy of just one star out of four for pedestrian safety. We believe that the public will be demanding more when they make their choice of new vehicle.”He called on the chief executives of vehicle manufacturers to drive through changes today, not tomorrow, and calculated that for every day lost, five people would die and 115 would be seriously injured on Europe’s roads. “The killing has got to stop,” said Professor Tingvall.David Ward, director general of the FIA Foundation, which oversees the crash test programme, added: “Carmakers are striving and succeeding in delivering five-star occupant safety. “Now we need to see similar determination in improving pedestrian safety design, so that the combination of improved levels of occupant and pedestrian protection achieved by the Citroën C4 and SEAT Altea are matched by others.” A TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) report to the European Commission published to coincide with the latest Euro NCAP result reveals that 1,700 fatalities and 42,000 serious injuries to pedestrians and cyclists could be prevented each year if manufacturers produced cars that incorporated greater pedestrian protection, which would cost an average ?100 per model. Legislation aimed at forcing carmakers to produce more pedestrian-friendly car designs will come into effect in 2010 at the earliest. However, Euro NCAP wants changes sooner and is calling for the repositioning and restructuring of front bumpers to absorb energy and reduce the chances of leg breakage, the softening of the leading edge of the bonnet and less rigid reinforcement under the bonnet. Honda, which has seen four of its models given a three-star pedestrian protection rating by Euro NCAP – the most of any manufacturer – simultaneously, revealed that it had developed a bonnet that automatically “popped up” in collision with a pedestrian. It is designed to reduce the severity of pedestrian head injuries by providing more clearance between the bonnet’s outer skin and unyielding engine parts beneath it. The manufacturer estimates that the technology could reduce pedestrian casualties by around 10%, with the number seriously injured cut by around 5%. Euro NCAP results (Only vehicles tested since 2001 are listed below. For previous test results go to www.euroncap.com)
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