This Is How Far Car Safety Has Come In The Last 20 Years CarBuzz News Features New Cars Used Cars Sell My Car Shopping Tools Car Reviews Car Finder Compare Cars Best Cars Car Dealerships Used Car Reviews Car Advice Home News This Is How Far Car Safety Has Come In The Last 20 Years

This Is How Far Car Safety Has Come In The Last 20 Years

Feb. 04, 2017 2:00 PM ET by Martin Bigg / 1 Comment Euro NCAP has been crashing cars for 20 years to improve our safety. Car safety really has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. To ride that point home, Euro NCAP has released a video commemorating its 20th anniversary of testing cars to destruction. Since it formed 20 years ago, the organization has crashed around 1,800 cars, saved 78,000 lives and spent 160 million Euros (around $172 million) to make cars safer. The real crunch point of the video, though, is how shockingly unsafe cars used to be in the event of an accident. In the video, Euro NCAP crashed a 1997 Rover 100 supermini, otherwise known as the Metro, and a modern-day Honda Jazz in a simulated front off-set collision at 40 mph. The result was alarming. The Rover crumples like a tin can to the point that the cabin is intruded. According to Euro NCAP's Matthew Avery, the occupants of the Rover supermini would almost certainly have been killed or seriously injured. In comparison, everyone in the 2017 Honda Jazz would have walked away with only minor injuries. Experts were surprised at how badly the Rover performed in the crash test. Its 'safety cell' completely collapsed, and the force of the impact moved the steering wheel into the cabin and pushed the airbag to the side, causing the driver's head to slam into the dashboard. You can see why it was only awarded a one star safety rating when it was on sale 20 years ago. Worryingly, this was one of Britain's best-selling cars at the time when Euro NCAP first launched.

Join The Discussion

Show Comments (1)

Gallery

1 Photos Tags: #Honda News #Crash #Technology #Video LoginSign Up Home News Features Car Reviews Car Advice 2021 CarBuzz Awards New Cars Used Cars Future Cars Compare Cars Sell My Car Car Dealerships Buy Here Pay Here Used Car Reviews Popular Tags Cars # Video # TOP # Spy Shots # Reveal # Rumor # Auto Show # Supercar # Tuning # Car Culture # Industry News # Motorsport Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Car Type SUVs Crossovers Sedans Coupes Trucks Sports Cars Wagons Vans Hatchbacks Convertibles Small Cars Luxury Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Future Cars By Price Up to $15K $15K - $25K $25K - $35K $35K - $45K $45K - $55K $55K - $75K $75K - $100K $100K - $200K $200K - $300K Above $300K Back To Top