Systems which help drivers to avoid or mitigate crashes are already on sale.
In the ever-escalating technology wars over auto safety, Euro NCAP said today that it is currently testing a number of European cars equipped with crash avoidance technologies. The first results will be published on 29 October in a move that foreshadows the inclusion of such systems in the overall safety rating next year.
Euro NCAP will assess both low-speed (City) and higher speed (Inter-Urban) systems to see how well Autonomous Emergency Braking and Forward Collision Warning systems help drivers avoid or to mitigate a crash. A similar protocol adopted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, aka IIHS, is behind their first crash avoidance ratings of low-speed systems in the United States today.
“Systems which help drivers to avoid or mitigate crashes are already in the marketplace and will become commonplace in the coming years,” said Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP. “Euro NCAP will lead the assessment of such technologies and its protocols will be the benchmark to help consumers differentiate good systems from bad ones.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
