Crash test scheme to investigate whiplash and stability

By Phil McNamara

Motor Industry

12 September 2006 09:30

Electronic stability control and anti-whiplash head restraints should soon be part of the Euro NCAP crash test programme, CAR Online can reveal.

Testers are keen to extend the programme beyond today's crash tests, which assess occupant safety for adults and children, as well as pedestrian injuries in an impact. 'We are always looking for the next area to investigate,' an NCAP insider told CAR Online. 'We hope to get a whiplash rating out soon, and expand into primary safety by examining stability control systems.'

The initiative will further empower car buyers. Rear-end shunts that cause whiplash are a very common accident, and injuries can be reduced with active head restraints. These move forward in the event of a deceleration, reducing the jerky forces on victim's necks. With NCAP moving into this field, manufacturers will be under pressure to make active head restraints standard.

Electronic stability control (ESC) may take longer to become part of the NCAP testing programme. While the crash tests are computer controlled and take place in laboratory conditions, ESC tests are likely to take place on a test track with a human driver. Weather conditions and human error are among the unpredictable variables which may make it hard to draw comparisons between different, ESC-equipped cars.

'One of the problems we have is creating a predictable and repeatable test,' said our source. 'We need a test that will create comparable results between a car we test today and one we test in six months' time.'

Pressure is growing on manufacturers to make stability programmes standard. Thatcham, the research centre for the insurance industry, claims that making stability control standard could save 400 lives and 3000 serious injuries annually on British roads. It claims manufacturers could plumb in the electronic safeguard for as little as £50 per car. Thatcham claims that just 40 percent of new cars sold in Britain have stability control, compared with around 60 percent in Germany.

However, a spokesman for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders hit back at Thatcham. 'It's clear that stability control saves lives. But Thatcham has plucked this figure of 50 pounds from the air.'

'It says ESP saves 15 per cent on repairs too, so perhaps it should put its money where its mouth is and give those who specify ESP a discount on their insurance premiums,' he added. 'Then they can start talking to car makers about including other active safety kit as part of their insurance ratings, something we have demanded for years, but Thatcham has consistently refused to consider.'

By Phil McNamara