What_Car_UK_-_August_2020

NEWS

26 August 2020 whatcar.com

CRASH SAFETY BODY Euro NCAP has

introduced a series of new tests for vehicles

scheduled for assessment in 2020. The

alterations are designed to “address long-

standing needs in occupant protection, to

improve post-crash protection and promote

the latest advanced driver assistance

technology”, the organisation says.

The most signifi cant change is to the offset

head-on collision test, which hasn’t changed

in 23 years. Now, instead of crashing into a

static barrier, test vehicles will strike a moving

barrier, with the impact on both vehicle and

barrier being analysed.

The aim of this change is to encourage

makers of larger vehicles to better consider

how they perform in impacts with smaller cars,

in order to spread the forces more evenly.

“Historically, SUVs and other big cars

have offered very good protection to their

occupants, but the smaller vehicles they

sometimes crash into can fare less well,” said

Matthew Avery, a Euro NCAP board member

and director of research at Thatcham Research.

“In the new compatibility test, if the larger

vehicle is too stiff in an impact scenario, it

will be penalised accordingly. This levels the

playing fi eld for vehicles of all sizes, and that’s

a win-win for road safety.”

Side impact crashes have the second-highest

rate of death or serious injuries among car

occupants, so this test has also been improved.

The speed of the impact is being increased and

new measurements are being introduced to

assess how severe the impact is on both the

driver and the front seat passenger, rather than

just the passenger.

Automatic emergency braking systems will

be assessed in greater detail, too. Specifi cally,

the effectiveness of systems that can react to

avoid a collision when joining traffi c from side

junctions, or when reversing into the fl ow of

traffi c or pedestrians, will be rated specifi cally

as part of a car’s overall safety score.

Driver attention monitoring systems that

alert drivers if their eyes wander from the road

ahead excessively will also be assessed.

As well as introducing ratings for the quality

of the rescue information that car makers

provide to the emergency services, Euro NCAP

has launched the Euro Rescue app, which

provides vital vehicle structure and safety

system information for fi rst responders to help

get injured people out of vehicles more quickly.

Newtestsaimtoreducedisparitiesin the severity

of impacts between large and small cars

THE CAPITAL’S CONGESTION Charge has been

increased by 30% to £15 a day, to help recoup

revenue that’s been lost during the coronavirus

lockdown due to reduced traf c numbers.

The Congestion Charge’s hours of operation

have also been extended. As of 22 June,

the fee is payable between 7am and 10pm,

instead of ending at 6pm, and it now applies

at weekends as well as on weekdays. As

before, electric cars and some hybrids are

exempt from the charge.

Transport for London’s revenue losses,

including for public transport, are expected to

total around £4 billion in this  nancial year.

London raises

Congestion

Charge by 30%

Congestion Charge rise is a knock-on effect of Covid-19

Euro NCAP makes

big changes to

crash tests