Euro NCAP: More protection for pedestrians

For 2010 Euro NCAP introduced more stringent criteria to rate with 5 stars the crash result of any new car. In top of other checked results, electronic stability control had to be a standard item in the model to obtain that mark. In spite of that, and along the past two years, the majority of tests have awarded the cars the coveted 5-star rating.

For 2012, the institution plans to tighten the requirements, so a model won’t obtain top marks if it doesn’t meet at least a 60% of potential maximum rating in the Pedestrian Protection department; sofar, the minimum percentage in pedestrian marks to obtain a general 5-star rating was 40%.

An overview of the Euro NCAP results for the finalist candidates for Car of the Year 2012 award is revealing. Almost all of them have won the 5-star general rating. The exception, with 4 stars, is the new Panda (no ESC as standard). But among them, only the Ford Focus, with a 72% in pedestrian protection and Toyota Yaris with a 60%, meet the new criteria to apply in future tests for winning the top rating. Euro NCAP believes manufacturers are lagging in this area, while the Adult Occupant and Child Occupant departments are much better cared for. A fourth department, Safey Assist (additional safey devices), is also measured in points and percentage of a potential maximum result. Adding the points of the four departments, the best marks are for Ford Focus (104 points), very close to what Alfa Romeo Giulietta (106 points) obtained last year. Then comes the Toyota Yaris (99), followed by Citroën DS5 (95), VW Up (94) and so on.