This new ranking looks at safety of new passenger cars sold in 2008 in the 30 countries covered by the Road Safety Performance Index. Each year until the recent economic downturn, around 15 million new passenger cars have been sold in Europe, 14.35 million in 2008. These new cars made up 6% of the 250 million cars registered in EU member states. Vehicle passive safety has improved considerably over the past decade because of increased minimum standards laid down by EU type approval regulations and car manufacturers’ efforts to meet consumer demands for safer cars. When the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) started to test the crash performance of cars ten years ago, the average car was awarded 2 stars for occupant protection. In 2008, 90% of the new cars tested under Euro NCAP protocol were awarded either 4 or 5 stars, 5 being the maximum for occupant protection. Government bodies, local authorities and companies, alongside consumers, have a role to play to support the market for safe cars by including safety in their vehicle purchase and leasing policies, among other measures. Current concerns over climate change have led several Member States to adopt measures to promote environmentally-friendly cars. Unfortunately a similar approach promoting safe cars is limited to very few countries. Policymakers are challenged to look for policy options that would bring about synergies and help to achieve simultaneously two key EU commitments: reducing road deaths and CO2 emissions from road transport. (Author/publisher)
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