As UN Global Road Safety week puts worldwide pedestrian safety under the spotlight, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is asking the UK government and car makers to make pedestrian friendly car fronts a top priority.
It claims that the government should be taking the lead in lobbying the European Commission and car makers to make radical changes so that vulnerable road users can get the same five star protection as those sitting in the vehicle.
Since 2006, car occupant’s deaths and serious injuries have fallen by 35% but for pedestrians the fall is just 16%, while cyclist deaths and serious injuries have increased by 31%.
Car occupants benefit increasingly from the high standards of crash protection brought about by the Euro NCAP crash testing programme, ensuring more four and five-star cars than ever are on the market. Improvements to the front of cars that would benefit pedestrians and cyclists in a collision have simply not kept pace.
IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “While the people in the car are much safer, in the case of a crash with a pedestrian or cyclist, the front of the car is not as forgiving. Much more can and should be done through car design to minimise the damage caused by hard metal on soft tissue.”
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