The Endura FPS fits into a bull bar – but this is a life-saving version

As vehicle manufacturers have taken the issue of driver and passenger safety to their hearts by producing ever-safer vehicles, it often seems that pedestrians are getting something of a raw deal. In the UK alone, 900 pedestrians and cyclists are killed in road traffic accidents each year, with more than 9,000 being seriously injured. Across Europe, this figure rises to 12,000 deaths and 290,000 serious injuries.

With such staggering statistics, it is no wonder that more emphasis is being placed on pedestrian protection and car manufacturers are looking for new and improved ways to reduce the risks to pedestrians in the event of an accident. SUV and 4x4 manufacturers, in particular, have been subject to much criticism about the level of pedestrian safety they offer, especially those which have bull bars fitted. Now new European legislation coming into effect in May 2007 will effectively outlaw traditional rigid structures which may effect the improved design of vehicles involving pedestrian protection.

While it is agreed that vehicles need some sort of frontal protection, it is obvious that this needs to be designed with pedestrian safety in mind. Established in 1991, Concept Mouldings introduced the first soft-touch, polyurethane Frontal Protection System for the Land Rover P38A Range Rover back in 1993. Since then, it has continually invested in R&D and developed and patented newer technologies. Now, recent testing has proved that Concept’s Frontal Protection Systems can dramatically improve the frontend performance crash performance of SUVs, 4X4s and Light Commercial Vehicles in a crash, showing impressive benefits for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists, while also meeting the requirements of the European Directive. When fitted with the Endura FPS, vehicles were up to 50 times safer in the event of a frontend collision with a child.

LCVs, 4x4s and SUVs can reap the benefits of the system

Benchmark tests carried out at MIRA, one of Europe’s leading vehicle design, development and certification centres, have proved that with an Endura FPS fitted, the risk of head injury reduces from over 98% in the worst case down to less than 2%. Children typically incur head injuries from fronts of vehicles and these often prove to be fatal. Statistics show that 80% of all head injuries are serious or fatal injuries. Some 19% of serious and fatal injuries are caused in the abdominal area, and less than 1% of serious or fatal injuries are caused in the knee area, causing either permanent disability or amputation. All injuries have been proven to be reduced with the Endura FPS added.

“The Endura FPS is a natural development to the work we have done over the years,” says managing director Ian Finney. “Ironically, the technology fits into a bull bar – the very product that consumers have been told to avoid. However, we see this as the death of the bull bar and the birth of FPS.” The revolutionary

Pedestrian safety is dramatically improved with Endura

Endura FPS works in harmony with the base vehicle, absorbing massive amounts of energy to significantly improve the safety of the pedestrians, by maximising energy absorption within the shortest distance possible.

The system is practical and easy to fit. The unit will be tested and available to fit most popular vehicles before 25th May, 2007 and attach with a uniquely designed fitting system that is tailored to the profile of the vehicle. All packs come complete with fasteners and full instructions. “We are starting the ball rolling here, as these systems are in their infancy,” says Mr Finney. “But we can really start to make some impact on pedestrian safety. We are saying to the OEM industry that you can take the lead here and make a real difference.”

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