greenblack
26.11.03, 23:02
UK: Land Rovers slated in safety survey
26 Nov 2003
Source: just-auto.com editorial team
The Birmingham Post reports that our Land Rover models were named as among
the worst in a safety survey yesterday. The newspaper said that nearly a
quarter of all vehicle seats are still offering poor or only marginal
protection from whiplash injuries, according to the research. Three of Land
Rover's Freelander models and one from its Defender range were placed in the
18 worst offenders.
But the Solihull company said it was committed to safety and highlighted
Department of Transport data on real crash situations which placed the
Defender and Discovery as the two safest vehicles.
According to the latest survey, by Thatcham, the Berkshire based motor
insurance repair research centre, of nearly 400 of the most popular models
tested, six per cent offered poor protection and 17 per cent marginal.
Also, the number of models rated poor fell 64 per cent.
'Many motor manufacturers are now listening to our advice but some are not
and are still producing unsafe seats,' said Thatcham crash laboratory manager
Matthew Avery, quoted in the Post.
More than 200,000 British motorists are injured in low speed rear shunts each
year with 2,000 of them having some form of permanent disability, the report
said.
Thatcham issued warnings to manufacturers last year about the dangers. The
company said yesterday that the improvement in seat design meant there was
likely to be a 40 per cent decrease in whiplash injuries.
A Land Rover spokesman told the Birmingham Post: 'Land Rover welcomes any
survey that will help buyers make a more informed purchase decision, and on
the whole is satisfied with the performance of its products in the New Car
Head Restraint Ratings 2003.
'Land Rover's aim is to design cars that offer high levels of protection over
a wide range of real crash conditions on and offroad and the company
continues to take an active lead in industry discussions with Euro-NCAP to
improve the technical validity of the programme.
'Land Rover has a policy of continuous improvement and this applies to safety
as much as it does to other vehicle attributes.
'It is also important to note that in recently published Department of
Transport data it was concluded, following 150 recorded collisions, that 4x4
vehicles are the safest in real crash situations, with the Defender and
Discovery named as the two safest vehicles of all, respectively.'
The 18 models rated poor this year were: Alfa Romeo 156 3.2 GTA Audi A6 1.9
TDI Daewoo Matiz SE+ Fiat Seicento 1.1 Sporting Land Rover Freelander 2.0 TD
ES three-door Land Rover Freelander 2.0 TD ES five-door Land Rover Freelander
1.8 Serengeti Land Rover Defender 2.5 TD Mazda 2 1.4 TS2 Seat Arosa 1.4 S
Skoda Octavia 1.4 Classic Skoda 1.9 TD Ambiente Skoda 1.9 TD Elegance EST
Volkswagen Bora 1.9 TDI PD SE Volkswagen Bora 2.3 V5 Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TD
S Volkswagen Passat 2.8 V6 4 Motion Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TD SE.
Nie chce mi się tłumaczyć. Ta lista na końcu, to samochody, które według
Thatchamu oferują kiepskie zabezpieczenie pasażerów podczas uderzenia w tył
samochodu. Nie podano, które wypadły dobrze. Piszą także, że terenówki
oferują najwyższy poziom bezpieczeństwa podczas rzeczywistych wypadków, ale
to oczywistość.
