Dismissed and derided at its launch in 1997, Euro NCAP has come a long way in a short time.
It’s now arguably the most influential independent voice in the automotive industry, shaping the way cars look, handle and, most importantly, react in an accident.
The safety lobby was formed by the Transport Research Laboratory with the aim of making manufacturers more responsible and accountable for safety by testing their models and informing the public of the results.
It has succeeded. With each model launch, manufacturers strive for a full five stars in the safety ratings system, often talking to Euro NCAP while they develop new models.
Many companies refer to the Euro NCAP ratings when selecting their fleet options list.
Some quote a minimum of four stars, others will not accept anything below the maximum rating, though a sizeable proportion does not have any stipulations.
Euro NCAP has so far limited itself to raising awareness among the general public, but it is beginning to recognise the importance of the huge company car sector, particularly in the UK.
In an exclusive interview with Fleet News, Euro NCAP secretary general Michiel Van Ratingen called for fleets to put pressure on manufacturers to fit more safety systems as standard.
“We have been pushing the OEMs to put seatbelt reminders in their cars and they are now reluctantly doing so,” says Van Ratingen.
“But some fleet managers ask for them to be taken out, based on insufficient knowledge about why we are pushing these systems and the accident data behind it.
“We have to better explain why these systems are in the car so fleets pressure the OEMs to fit them as standard. Safety is saving lives and costs.”
Consequently, Euro NCAP, in association with member organisation Thatcham and components maker Bosch, is inviting fleets to the MIRA testing ground later this year to give them an insight into its safety work.
Van Ratingen sees it as a two-way process. Euro NCAP is keen to understand what fleets want from cars – how they believe safety can be improved. It is considering developing a separate portal on its website that contains information specifically for fleets.
The safety ratings, which changed last year from three scores (adult occupant, child occupant and pedestrian) to one overall mark, are forever evolving to keep pace with technological developments.
Euro NCAP will shortly be adding speed limiters, lane departure systems and, later, alcohol locks.
“All these are support systems which increase safety,” says Van Ratingen.
“When we add new technology to the ratings we do it on the basis of accident data. We need studies that compare safety with and without the system. Then we draw our conclusions.”
The difficulty lies in getting hold of robust studies – police accident reports do not consider the potential impact of safety equipment.
Consequently, Euro NCAP is developing its own system that will enable it to investigate new developments in a controlled environment. This will enable it to incorporate new safety technology into its ratings much sooner.
Euro NCAP’s most notable recent success is Electronic Stability Control (ESC). Some fleets mandate them already; from 2011, the European Commission has mandated ESC on
all new cars thanks to lobbying by Euro NCAP and others, including UK fleets.
How much are fleets willing to pay for safety?
A recent study by Fleet News sister publication Car Magazine estimated that the myriad of safety technology introduced to meet Euro NCAP and new EU regulations could add £2,500 to the cost of a new car by 2016.
“We do take cost into consideration,” says Van Ratingen.
“Our policy is to look at the cars that are standard fit with systems so the volumes are high and the cost is low.
But you can’t do that with new technology initially.”
He adds: “We have to check which ones are of the most benefit to the public so we can pressure manufacturers to make them standard and at a lower price.”
What's next for Euro NCAP?
In addition to speed limiters, lane departure systems and alcohol locks, Euro NCAP has a number of new initiatives for 2010.
They include autonomous braking – both car to car and car to pedestrian – and intelligent speed adaptation, which automatically restricts the speed of the vehicle to the road limit.
But the biggest project will be looking at how vans can be incorporated into the ratings system.
It throws up a heap of challenges.
For instance, cars have become stiffer as safety is addressed in car-to-car crashes. But if vans become stiffer, it will increase the effect of the impact because of their extra weight.
“We are tweaking the system because we don’t want this negative effect of manufacturers increasing stiffness to meet the ratings,” says Van Ratingen.
Euro NCAP will look at occupant safety, ESC and seatbelt reminders. It is concerned that developments in cars are not crossing over into vans.
A further challenge is the range of variants with different load-carrying capacities. “We need to look at how we put load into the vehicle, how we attach it and where to put it,” says Van Ratingen.
He also draws attention to the fact that there are no pedestrian tests on vans because they have been developed for car noses, not flat fronts.
“People are still hit by LCVs so to have no regulation for OEMs to focus on pedestrian safety is wrong,” he says. “We are working on this.”
He expects to start tests on vans that carry people later this year, but does not expect to be testing all types of new van until 2012-13.
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