Why it’s crucial that likes of Euro NCAP keep pressure on manufacturers over safety

THIS September saw the new Ford Fiesta score five stars in its Euro NCAP crash test – making it only the second supermini alongside the new SEAT Ibiza this year to reach the maximum score in the standard vehicle category.

That’s significant for two reasons. First, the Fiesta Mk7 is likely to take over the crown of the Mk6 as Britain’s best-selling new car, so it’s good to see that the model tens thousands of people will end up buying each year will keep them as safe as possible.

Second, it also shows the important strides made in safety over the past 20 years. September 1997 was the first time a Ford Fiesta was tested by NCAP, with the Mk3 car receiving just three stars. Matthew Avery, head of Thatcham Research – the UK agency in charge of vehicle crash testing – pointed out that the Mk3’s crash structure left dummies enduring damage under tests.

It’s this kind of progress in safety that programmes like Euro NCAP were created to enforce. But with UK road fatalities struggling to decline past the 1,730 mark, there’s still work to be done.

This is why Euro NCAP has just announced a new ‘Road Map 2025’, outlining targets for manufacturers to introduce the latest safety tech.

By 2020, the group wants to see all new cars built with automatic emergency steering and braking. By 2022, all cars should detect and brake before pedestrians and cyclists, and they should be able to communicate with the wider infrastructure by 2024.

Makers will always strive for safer cars, but we need organisations like Euro NCAP to keep them on their toes.

“Progress in safety is impressive, but as fall in UK road deaths stalls, there’s still work to do”