What sort of a difference in vehicle safety does 20 years make? Well, Euro NCAP has given us the answer, with a crash-test video pitting a late nineties Rover 100 against a modern Honda Jazz.
The safety authority released the video to celebrate its 20-year anniversary. Euro NCAP says it has published more than 630 safety ratings, crash-tested some 1 800 cars and spent more than €160-million "to make cars safer" over the past two decades.
The organisation says the results of the crash-tests of the two family cars built 20 years apart underline the "huge advances" in vehicle safety since 1997. Safety technologies that were non-existent or optional at best – such as driver and passenger airbags, side protection airbags, belt reminders and electronic stability control – are now standard on all cars sold in Europe.
"We are very proud – as we mark 20 years at the forefront of road safety – that Euro NCAP's programme of safety tests has achieved major, life-saving improvements in cars and has helped Europe reach the lowest road fatality rate for any region in the world," said secretary general Michiel van Ratingen.
"Euro NCAP has given millions of consumers the knowledge and confidence to choose the safest cars possible. Recent years have shown a slowdown in the progress rate, however, so we mustn't take our foot off the gas. We want to ensure that Europe's roads get even safer in the next 20 years, not just for car occupants, but for all participants in traffic.
"We already test many more aspects of a car's safety than we did when we started in 1997, and that is set to continue. Next year, we will test systems that recognise and avoid crashes with cyclists, and we're lining up a very challenging roadmap for 2020 to 2025," Van Ratingen added.
Back in 1997, the top-selling Rover 100 achieved only one star (for reference, the likes of the Fiat Punto, Nissan Micra, Opel Corsa and Renault Clio each achieved just two stars). When pedestrian protection was assessed, not a single vehicle scored more than two points.
Twenty years on, nine out of ten cars sold on the European market hold a Euro NCAP rating, with the organisation says the motor industry "actively supports the development of new requirements for the top safety ratings".
Watch the comparative crash-test video below...
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