Safety shake-up ‘aims to protect small cars’
Huge Euro NCAP rethink could penalise larger vehicles
THE Euro NCAP crash-test programme is to undergo its biggest shake-up in a decade this year, with the introduction of tough new assessments that will penalise bigger cars if they are judged likely to damage smaller cars disproportionately.
The changes are designed to respond to concerns that SUVs and larger, heavier vehicles cause small cars and their occupants to “fare less well” in real-world collisions. To address this worry, a new, deformable barrier will be used in tests, with measurements from it determining how much “intrusion” cars would make into each other during collisions. The barrier will also move at 50km/h (31mph) instead of being static as it previously was, better reflecting real-world collisions.
Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research, and a board member of Euro NCAP, called the changes “a new yardstick”, adding: “The objective is to encourage makers of larger vehicles to share some of the burden of the impact with smaller vehicles. Historically SUVs and other big cars have offered very good protection to their occupants. However, the smaller cars they sometimes crash into can fare less well.
“In the new compatibility test, if the larger vehicle is too stiff in an impact scenario, it will be penalised accordingly. This levels the playing field for all vehicle sizes, which is a win-win for road safety.”
A number of other changes are being introduced to NCAP’s crash tests, once assessments resume post-lockdown. A new, sophisticated crash-test dummy – dubbed THOR (Test device for Human Occupant Restraint) – will be introduced to more closely mimic the behaviour of humans. THOR comes at a cost, though, with each unit coming in at around £600,000, more than twice the price of a standard dummy.
Driver status-monitoring systems – sophisticated, updated versions of fatiguedetection tech – will also be tested. These systems are judged to be vital for heavily
assisted cars that require drivers to take back control after help from features such as adaptive cruise and lane-keep assist.
Further updates include an assessment of how badly a driver and front-seat passenger would injure each other during side-impact collisions, with NCAP keen to promote the installation of centre airbags to prevent such occupant collisions. Plus manufacturers that make it easy for the emergency services to know where a car should be cut when freeing occupants following a collision will be rewarded.
Checks on autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems are also being ramped up, with set-ups that intervene when reversing (sometimes known as rear cross-traffic assist) gaining marks. AEB systems will also be rewarded if they work when a car pulls out of a junction, in addition to the current test that sees AEB checked on free-flowing road simulations.
FROM: John Clark AT a time when the Government has instructed us all to avoid public transport if at all possible, it seems insane to increase the London congestion charge to £15 and extend its operating hours. I know it’s temporary, but I’m willing to bet it won’t go all the way back down to £11.50.