Crash tests declare cars safe for passengers, but pedestrians still at risk

Date: 28/11/02

By Peter Chapman

EUROPEAN crash test results for new car models reveal record levels of protection for drivers and passengers. However, road safety campaigners said this week's results showed that cars were still 'excessively and unnecessarily dangerous for pedestrians'.

The survey by the EU-funded European new car assessment programme (EuroNCAP) gives the first five-star award for occupant protection to the new Renault Megane.

Five-star performers in other car size categories include Saab's 9-3 family car, and two executive models, Renault's Vel Satis and Mercedes' E-Class. Best performing small cars were the Citroen C3, Seat Ibiza and the new Ford Fiesta, with four stars each.

Max Mosely, EuroNCAP chairman and president of the International Automobile Federation, said: 'Whatever type of car you prefer to drive, whatever price you can afford, it is clear that there is now a wider choice of models offering stronger levels of protection.'

The cars were tested for impacts in crashes against barriers, poles and side impacts at speeds of 29, 50 and 64km per hour. However Jeanne Breen, director of the European Transport Safety Council, said none of the 18 models tested scored more than two-out-of-five in the pedestrian safety category - which measured the impact of a crash at 40kmh on a 'dummy' pedestrian or cyclist. One car, the off-road Suzuki Grand Vitara, failed to win a single point in this category.

Breen said Japanese manufacturer Honda had shown that pedestrian safety need not be expensive: modifications to last year's updated Civic model scored four out of five in the pedestrian tests, at a cost of only €10 per car.

The European Commission is planning a directive imposing new crash test rules.

European crash test results for new car models, published in November 2002, reveal record levels of protection for drivers and passengers. However, road safety campaigners said the results showed that cars were still 'excessively and unnecessarily dangerous for pedestrians'.