Don’t be a Crash-Test Dummy – Play it Safe on Your Next Car Purchase

• Featured Articles
• Published: 09 Sep 2008 in Motoring and Car Insurance

Driving tests are rigorous affairs these days, and rightly so. Gone are the times when all you had to do to obtain a driving license was know your left from right and which way up to hang the L-plate. But with all the effort being made to make drivers safer, how can you be sure that your car has passed similarly tough safety tests?

NCAP

That’s where the European New Car Assessment Programme comes in. Better known as Euro NCAP, the independent assessment body tests the safety of Europe’s most popular cars and then allocates them with star ratings dependant upon their safety performance.

Although there are already Europe-wide laws to ensure a minimum standard of safety, since 1997, Euro NCAP – for which testing is voluntary – has been encouraging carmakers to exceed these basic requirements to help make the roads a safer place.

And with safety now one of the main deciding factors for buyers, motor manufacturers are continually improving cars in an effort to achieve the ultimate badge of car safety – a five-star Euro NCAP rating.

All this is great news for the wellbeing of drivers, passengers and pedestrians, but not such great news for the… 

…Crash-Test Dummies

These rubber-skinned, steel-skeleton surrogate humans are packed with sensing equipment and cost over £100,000 each. But despite their high value, they surely have the worst job in the world, being required to repeatedly endure the following ordeals:

• Frontal crash tests performed at 40 mph into an offset deformable barrier
• Side impact crash tests performed at 31 mph
• Side impact pole crash test performed at 18 mph
• Pedestrian crash tests performed at 25 mph

However, crash-test dummy hardship is for the greater good as simulated-injury data can be used by manufacturers to improve their vehicle safety measures, and by prospective buyers to select a safer car.

So when you come to buy your next set of wheels, before even thinking of protecting yourself with such things as car insurance, breakdown cover or an engine warranty, first make sure you visit the Euro NCAP website to check how that car you’ve got your eye on rates on their five-star safety scale.

Read the complete Confused.com Guide to Buying a Used Car