Safety tech rewarded by Euro NCAP
* Technologies rewarded in Euro NCAP Advanced * Designed to increase development * and encourage consumers to specify safety...
The first winners of the Euro NCAP Advanced awards were announced at the Paris motor show and include technology designed to prevent accidents happening in the first place, minimise their severity or start the emergency process automatically after a collision.
The awards have been set up in the hope that manufacturers will speed up the development of new systems and that motorists will make safety more of a priority when choosing a car.
The first winners of the Euro NCAP Advanced awards were announced at the Paris motor show and include technology designed to prevent accidents happening in the first place, minimise their severity or start the emergency process automatically after a collision.
Euro NCAP asked manufacturers to submit a case for a reward rather than test the technologies itself as it does with the crash test programme. Submissions from manufacturers will be used by Euro NCAP to help create tougher testing protocols, which could come into effect by 2013.
The first successful submissions and awards are:
• Audi Side Assist - a system that monitors the car's blind-spot and uses LEDs to warn the driver of the potential hazards.
• BMW Assist Advanced eCall a system that automatically contacts a call centre following an accident to provide the exact location and, in some countries, information about the severity of the accident.
• Honda Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) automatically applies the brakes if an imminent collision is detected, to slow the speed and lessen the severity of the impact
• Mercedes-Benz Pre-safe and Pre-Safe Brake this detects an imminent collision and reduces injury by pre-tensioning seatbelts, adjusting airbag deployment, closing windows and the sunroof. It also applies the brakes to reduce impact speed.
• Opel Eye a system that can read road signs, allowing it to display speed limits to drivers. It also detects if the vehicle is wandering out of lane.
• Peugeot Connect and SOS sends a text message to a call centre detailing the location and the last 10 positions of the car following an accident.
• Citroen Localised Emergency Call as above
• Volkswagen Lane Assist can steer the car back into the correct lane if the driver starts to veer out.
• Volvo City Safety can automatically brake the car to either avoid a rear-end collision entirely or reduce the impact speed.
