Crash Test and Road Safety News Index

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Gains Top Marks in US Safety Test
10th December, 2008
The highly respected Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the United States has named the Mercedes-Benz C-Class one of its Top Safety Picks for 2009 ..... more

Holden Commodore Omega Sedan Achieves 5-Star Safety Rating
5th December, 2008
The result reflects the introduction of a steering column shroud energy absorber across the VE sedan range that helps to reduce driver knee injuries, and a passenger seat belt reminder on the Omega sedan ..... more

Saab 9-3 Keep IIHS Top Honours Secure
30th November, 2008
The entire 2009 Saab 9-3 line-up, including the 4-door Sport Sedan, 5-door SportCombi and 2-door Convertible has again earned the Top Safety Pick Award in the mid-size category from America's Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ..... more

Upgraded Holden Barina 3-Door Hatchback Achieves 4-Star Crash Test Rating
6th November, 2008
The result reflects structural improvements and the addition of side impact airbags as standard across the updated Barina hatchback range, which was introduced in August ..... more

EuroNCAP's new rating scheme: Five stars impossible without ESP
6th November, 2008
Euro NCAP moves closer to its vision “for safer cars” with the release of details about the scoring behind the organisation’s new car safety rating ..... more

New VW Golf – Five Stars From EuroNCAP
24th October, 2008
The independent testers at EuroNCAP put the new Golf through a series of rigorous tests. The result: five stars, which is the best result available ..... more

Honda's New Dummy
16th October, 2008
Honda has revealed plans to enhance safety testing procedures, announcing that it will begin using its new third generation pedestrian dummy, POLAR III, in vehicle-to-pedestrian crash tests ..... more

Mercedes-Benz to Introduce Advanced Driver Fatigue Safety Technology
19th August, 2008
In the view of these specialists, long holiday journeys without intermediate breaks involve a high risk of overtiredness, which drivers often fail to notice ..... more

Ford Falcon FG With 5 Stars
8th August, 2008
Ford's all-new FG Falcon has become the first Australian-built car to receive a five-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) ..... more

Volkswagen Transporter - First Van to be Awarded Four Stars by ANCAP
4th August, 2008
Australia’s leading vehicle safety organisation, the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP), has awarded its first 4-star rating for a commercial van – to the Volkswagen Transporter ..... more

Holden provides 75 cars for emergency training
5th June, 2008
GM Holden will provide 75 cars to the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO) for emergency skills training on the Gold Coast late this week ..... more

Audi A4 Earns Five Stars In The Euro NCAP Crash Test
5th June, 2008
The new Audi A4 has been awarded the top rating of 5 stars by Euro NCAP following testing for passive crash safety ..... more

Five Euro-NCAP Stars For The New Skoda Superb
29th May, 2008
The new Skoda Superb has received five stars in independent crash tests performed by Euro-NCAP. One of the factors to have contributed to the highest possible rating is a knee airbag ..... more

Ford Researches Possible Next-Generation Safety Belt Technology
2nd January, 2008
One of Ford’s possible next-generation safety belts incorporates a four-point “belt and suspenders” design in lieu of the familiar three-point safety belt, while a second possible future safety belt incorporates an air bag directly into the belt itself ..... more

Thatcham Looks East
14th December, 2007
The year 2008 will see Thatcham, the insurer funded research centre widen its horizons and look east to Asia and Australasia ..... more

Bosch receives Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Award
13th December, 2007
Electronic Stability Programme® – recognised as the most important safety innovation of the past 20 years ..... more

Holden‘s ‘Guardian Angel’ Now An Accessory
3rd December, 2007
This high tech "guardian angel" provides owners with round the clock assistance covering a range of situations from the inconvenience of lost keys, right through to checking on the safety of occupants, or deploying emergency services, if your vehicle's airbags or seatbelt pretensioners are activated ..... more

Kia Awarded "Top Safety Pick" By America's IIHS
22nd November, 2007
Sedona (known as Carnival in Australia) was selected by America's IIHS as one of only 34 vehicles to earn the "Top Safety Pick" award for its impressive performance with top ratings in frontal, side and rear impact crash tests ..... more

Audi A3 Awarded Top Marks for Safety
19th November, 2007
The highly regarded Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the USA has awarded the compact Audi A3 its highest rating of “Top Safety Pick” ..... more

Volvo Cars' Child Safety Manual Best In Sweden
29th October, 2007
Volvo Cars' manual on child safety - has been awarded "The best information manual in Sweden" in 2007 ..... more

New Mondeo Is Latest Ford Model With Top Safety Rating
27th September, 2007
The new Ford Mondeo has won a 5-star rating for adult occupant protection in the latest round of Euro NCAP safety testing announced yesterday ..... more

New VW Tiguan Awarded Five Stars By EuroNCAP
27th September, 2007
The new Volkswagen Tiguan has been awarded a maximum five star rating for occupant protection by Euro NCAP ahead of its Australian release next year ..... more

More Than 2,000 Crash Tests Performed At Volvo Cars Safety Centre
3rd July, 2007
The Volvo Cars Safety Centre has reached a milestone in crash safety research. The Centre has performed more than 2,000 crash tests since its inauguration in the year 2000 .... more

Mercedes-Benz to Organise the World’s Largest Safety Conference in Stuttgart in 2009
29th June, 2007
The world’s largest and most important conference on automotive safety will take place in Stuttgart in (northern) spring 2009. During this "Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles" (ESV), engineers, representatives from official bodies and politicians will discuss measures and technologies for the further improvement of vehicle safety .... more

Audi A4 Convertible Flops Crash Test
17th June, 2007
On Friday, 15th June, 2007, we disclosed that the new BMW 3-Series convertible did not perform well during crash testing conducted in America, by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). You can read that story here. Now we can disclose that the Audi A4 convertible is in the same position ..... more

BMW Convertible Flops Crash Test
15th June, 2007
There are times when the 'spin doctors' don't disclose all the known facts about their particular product/s. One such instance is the little known fact the new BMW 3 Series convertible has not scored well in crash testing by America's Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) ..... more

Children Should Travel Rearward Facing Until 3-4 Years of Age
4th June, 2007
Small children should travel in rearward facing child restraints for as long as possible, at least until they are three to four years old. Older children should use a booster cushion until they are 140 cm tall and at least 10-years old ..... more

Ford's Role In Developing More Lifelike Paediatric Crash Dummy Receives Recognition
29th May, 2007
Ford Motor Company's leading role in developing an abdominal insert for pediatric crash dummies continues to receive positive recognition from engineers and experts within the field of biomechanics ..... more

Nissan Dualis Awarded Five Stars By EuroNCAP
24th May, 2007
The Nissan Dualis, a new compact crossover vehicle, has been awarded the maximum five-star rating for adult occupant protection from the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP), with the highest ever recorded score for any vehicle ..... more

Safety For The Pregnant Driver And Her Unborn Child
23rd May, 2007
If a pregnant woman uses her safety belt correctly, the foetal injury risk is reduced significantly ..... more

The Frankness of EuroNCAP
24th December, 2006
Claes Tingvall, Euro NCAP Chairman, said "Manufacturers like Hyundai and Kia are now a long way behind the front-runners and it is high time that they realise that such poor results are unacceptable.” ..... more

GM Opens State-of-the-Art Roll-Over Crash Testing Facility
7th December, 2006
General Motors opened a state-of-the-art roll-over crash test facility on Tuesday, becoming the first North American car maker to integrate in-house testing for the infrequent but potentially deadly roll-over crashes that claim 10,000 lives a year ..... more

Mercedes-Benz B-Class Top-Scores in Latest ANCAP Testing
4th December, 2006
The Australasian New Car Assessment Programme has rated the Mercedes-Benz B-class with its highest five star rating for occupant protection in its latest round of crash tests ..... more

Renault Conducts its 10,000th Crash Test
26th November, 2006
Renault made its 10,000th crash test on Saturday 18th November, 2006, at the Lardy Technical Centre in France ..... more

Jeep Commander Earns High Safety Rating
3rd April, 2006
The Commander has received the highest rating for frontal-impact crash protection from the NHTSA ..... more

Euro NCAP issues wake-up call to industry
26th February, 2006
A wake-up call for the motor industry as Euro NCAP awards two star strike-through for the new Chevrolet Aveo sedan (Holden Barina sedan) ..... more

Peugeot 207 Achieves 5 Stars In Euro NCAP Result
26th February, 2006
A Euro NCAP 5 star occupant protection, 3 star pedestrian protection and 4 star child protection rating has not been achieved before by a supermini ..... more

Subaru B9 Tribeca: Here Within A Year
12th February, 2006
Subaru’s B9 Tribeca – which goes on sale in Australia late this year or early next year, at the latest – has been awarded top crash test ratings by America’s NHTSA ..... more

Alfa 159 Awarded a 5-Star Euro NCAP Rating
14th January, 2006
Alfa's 159 has been awarded a five-star rating from Euro NCAP. It is an important achievement, which underlines the attention that Fiat Auto pays to the protection of its drivers and passengers ..... more

Peugeot 407 Coupé – 5 Stars for Euroncap
6th December, 2005
Elegance, power and outstanding handling and dynamics, the 407 Coupé is also distinguished by its high levels of passive safety ..... more

World First For Citroën C6
6th December, 2005
The new Citroën C6, which is set to arrive in Australia in the middle of 2006, has become the very first car in the world to be awarded a maximum four star Euro NCAP pedestrian safety rating, as well as a maximum five stars for occupant protection ..... more

Fiat Croma Gets Euro NCAP 5-Star Rating
1st November, 2005
The Fiat Croma has been awarded the maximum five-star rating in the European New Car Assessment Programme crash safety ..... more

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