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Many U.K. cars have safety, writes state consumer watchdogSeat Belts Safety. Or Lack Of.
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Over the years, cars have been getting safer, thanks to government safety regulations and pressure from consumer, insurance, and safety groups. No longer do we have cars with safety systems that inspire fear and trembling on the part of their occupants (nowadays the only thing that might inspire fear and trembling are the driving skills of the one behind the wheel, if you’re a passenger). “Unsafe at Any Speed” is now a historical footnote in the annals of the 1960s automobile industry (because who really remembers the Chevy Corvair, anyway, much less that film’s—and Ralph Nader’s—screed against it?).
And yet, the more things change… While safety standards have improved in exponentially impressive amounts since the early 1960s—when safety-conscious people marveled at having lap belts in every seating position, and when instrument panels were swathed in hard steel instead of soft plastic—there is still room for improvement. Consider the case of cars sold in the U.K. The British consumer watchdog agency “Which?” has come down hard against a number of current models sold there, accusing several popular makes of motorcars of having defective seat-belt buckles which could pop open in the event of a crash, allowing previously-belted passengers to be injured or thrown free of the car. While “Which?” has noted steady improvements in safety in the 24 years the agency has been testing cars—when it started in 1983, it proclaimed the situation with many cars as “dire”—there are still issues with even the newest models. Although the 2006 Volvo S80 garnered high marks for its ability to protect occupants from upper leg damage (a common injury in crashes), it fell flat in the area of seat-belt buckle design for both the front and rear seats. “Which?” challenged a number of manufacturers to change the design of their seat-belt buckles, including Chrysler, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Subaru, but only Volvo—well known for its reputation for occupant safety—has committed to seriously studying the matter. Some car makers are definitely listening; the report listed the current Peugeot 207 supermini as being near the top of its class, whereas the 207’s predecessor, the 205, was dwelling in the safety cellar, coming in second from the last in a list of the 10 worst cars for safety. The highest-scoring car in safety terms was the 2003 Audi A8.
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