‘Suspicious parts’ found during car safety checks
INVESTIGATORS say ‘very suspicious’ parts have been found during crash safety tests on cars.
Testers responsible for car safety in the UK say they have found parts marked ‘for crash-test only’ when examining family vehicles they are due to grade.
It has raised fears – vigorously denied by motor industry bosses – that cars may have been fitted with parts specifically designed to help cheat crash tests.
Both Euro NCAP, which sets test criteria, and Thatcham research, which carries out UK crash tests, found airbags and child seat fixing points marked ‘for crash-test only’ after safety assessments, motoring magazine Auto Express said.
The findings were confirmed by Euro NCAP, which said it had ‘come across parts, airbags, seat foams, etc, which have unusual or suspicious labelling’.
All mass-production cars sold in the EU are crashed following set procedures. researchers from organisations such as Thatcham then conduct a ‘strip-down audit’ on individual components.
It was during these audits that researchers from Thatcham and NCAP found marked parts. Matthew Avery, head of research for Thatcham, said such markings have been found on cars from
‘Alarm bells ring when we see that’
‘several’ makers but declined to name any. ‘Sometimes we’ve tested a vehicle and we will see on the back of a module it says “Euro NCAP test”,’ he said. ‘That feels very, very suspicious to us.’
He added: ‘They’re not stamping it, they’re writing it in marker pen; it’s marked crudely. Alarm bells ring when we see that.’
referring to the car diesel emissions scandal, Auto Express editor Steve Fowler said: ‘In a post-dieselgate world, any suspicion that a car manufacturer is cheating or trying to game a test is worrying. There is no absolute proof, but there are questions that need answering.’
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers, said: ‘There is no evidence of any malpractice in safety testing and to imply otherwise shows a failure to understand the manufacturing and certification process.’
He added: ‘Because this [safety testing] sometimes happens before full production begins, it can be necessary to identify certain safety-critical components in order to confirm they are the latest, approved specification parts, as well as for tracking and analysis.’