Mazda2, Renault Laguna, Mercedes C-Class & Volvo V70 score 5 stars

European car safety testing body Euro-NCAP yesterday announced its latest batch of results. They came as great news for Volvo, Mazda, Renault and Mercedes, whose cars were all award five-out-of-five.

Latest versions of the Volvo V70, Mazda2, Renault Laguna and Mercedes C-Class all scored five-out-of-five for adult passenger protection.

Combining individual scores for adult passenger, child passenger and pedestrian protection, the Volvo V70, emerged safest of all, tallying 91 points. That was in spite of a problem with side airbag deployment on the Volvo which the manufacturer has promised it will recall cars to fix.

The Mazda2 becomes the eleventh supermini to score five-out-of-five for adult passenger protection, but it ranks second only to the Peugeot 207 once adult passenger protection, child passenger protection and pedestrian protection are factored in. It scored a commendable 89 points overall, to the Peugeot’s 91.

A fault with the Mazda’s front airbags caused late detonation in its initial tests, but Euro-NCAP agreed to a retest after Mazda fixed the problem, and promised to recall all new Mazda 2's involved and carry out reparation work.

Also tested in the latest batch were the Daihatsu Materia and Honda Civic which both scored four stars for adult passenger protection.

Mazda2 Press Release:

The all-new Mazda2 supermini has been awarded a 5-Star safety rating in the latest round of Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) crash tests.

In terms of occupant protection, the new Mazda2 proved itself to be among the safest cars in the small car segment – earning the maximum 5-Stars for adult protection, plus a class-leading 4-Stars for child protection and a competitive 2-Stars for pedestrian protection.

“This is an excellent result for Mazda2, which is now officially one of the safest small cars,” commented Rob Lindley, Managing Director Mazda Motors UK. “Mazda’s designers and engineers have demonstrated that lightweight construction, which is so important in cutting fuel consumption and reducing emissions, does not mean having to compromise on strength or safety.”

The new Mazda2 weighs under 1,000kg, significantly less than the outgoing model, and its lightweight construction using ultra high-tensile steels, combined with sophisticated aerodynamics, enables the car to achieve reduced CO2 emissions (from 129g/km) and fuel consumption (up to 52.3mpg), while ensuring brisk acceleration and agile handling characteristics.

The three-strong Mazda2 range of petrol models is available in the UK from just £8,499 (on-the-road), with diesel models in showrooms from March 2008.

During the tests of the Mazda 2, a supermini, and the Volvo V70, a large family car, problems were noted with the deployment of both these cars’ airbags. In the frontal impact test of the Mazda 2, a small disturbance shortly before impact led to a delay in the firing of the airbags and protection of the front seat occupants was compromised. Although these disturbances are not part of Euro NCAP’s tests, they could occur in real life accidents. In the case of the Volvo V70, curtain airbag deployment was delayed in the side pole test.

Both manufacturers took steps to rectify the problems in their vehicles. Mazda improved the airbag control software in production cars and will contact all Mazda 2 owners, to ensure their cars are upgraded. Volvo agreed to modify production cars and to contact all V70 owners. As a result of the commitment shown to modify the cars to the upgraded specification, both Volvo and Mazda were granted re-tests. The results released today are based on these re-tests. During the re-testing, the airbags of the Mazda 2 deployed as expected but, unfortunately, the Volvo V70’s curtain airbag again fired late. Volvo is currently investigating this issue. Consumers who are concerned about their own vehicles should contact their local dealer.

Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP ‘This is exactly why Euro NCAP exists: to independently evaluate the protection that these cars offer consumers and to spot just this kind of error. If there is a safety problem, we will not re-test the vehicle unless the problem is fixed on all cars.’

Europes worst drivers revealed

It may be worth taking extra care next time you cross a road or get behind the wheel in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as a report out today revealed Europes worst drivers.

Despite the decreasing number of road deaths across the Continent, these countries' burgeoning economies have placed more cars on their roads - putting residents at increased risk of traffic-related deaths.

They top Forbes.com's first-ever ranking of Europe's most dangerous drivers. The list was compiled by calculating the number of road deaths per million inhabitants in 28 European countries, using 2006 data from the European Commission and the International Road Traffic and Accident Database. It gathers data on traffic and road accidents from 28 of 30 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a statistical clearinghouse. Turkey and Mexico are not included. We used provisional 2006 results for 12 countries that have yet to submit final data: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Greece, Cyprus, Iceland, Slovakia, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Finland and Malta.

Central Europe hotspot:

Greece took fourth place, with island neighbour Cyprus only a few places below at number eight. But Central and Eastern Europe dominate the top 10, with Poland, Slovenia, Hungary and the Czech Republic all reporting over 100 road deaths per million inhabitants. There is, however, a big gap between these countries and Lithuania, which reported over 200 fatalities per million. It's not surprising that the three Baltic states have the worst road safety records in Europe. Breakneck economic growth over the past five years has increased consumer spending and put more cars on the road, but without any major improvement to infrastructure or increased awareness of dangerous driving.

"There is a lot of drinking and driving," says Agnia Baranauskaite, a Lithuanian-born analyst for the research firm Eurasia Group, in London. "Because of persistent levels of corruption and bribe taking, most people feel that they can drive drunk, even if they get caught by a policeman." European Commission data released earlier this year found that 23.5% of 2006 road deaths in Estonia were caused by those driving over the limit. For Latvia the figure was 21.7%; for Lithuania it was 14.8%. Baranauskaite says that although governments have been cracking down on drunken driving in capital cities, it is more difficult to enforce the law in smaller towns and rural areas.

More rail needed:

Depending on the severity of the offence, those driving under the influence there may lose their licences and pay hefty fines. The increase in the number of drunken drivers on the roads could also be a result of an overall traffic increase. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the area has been flooded with foreign investors drawn by an attractive tax environment, says Dr. Friedrich Heinemann, economist with the Centre for European Economic Research, a nonprofit research institute based in Mannheim, Germany. A planned intra-country rail network should ease the situation. The Rail Baltica project is intended to upgrade Soviet-era train links between Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. However, it will not be completed until at least 2014.
In the meantime, the Baltic states could learn from their Western neighbours. These mature European economies with better experience in road safety, traffic coordination and road upkeep have been able to keep their number of fatalities relatively low. France, Germany, the UK and three Scandinavian countries are in the bottom 10 of the rankings, with fewer than 75 road deaths per million inhabitants. This could have something to do with the European Union's goal of cutting annual Continent-wide road deaths by 50%, to 25,000 by 2010. It's supporting its members by circulating and funding road safety and accident data research, enacting motor vehicle legislation to regulate vehicle safety standards, and, most recently, discussing directives on infrastructure safety, says Fred Wegman, managing director of the Institute for Road Safety Research in the Netherlands.

The European Union also held its first 'road safety day' this year, on April 27, to increase awareness of its goal. Although road fatalities are falling, with the EU estimating that 38,600 people were killed on its roads last year (compared with 50,437 in 2001), there is still some way to go before the 25,000 goal is reached. Until then, brace yourself for a bumpy ride in Europe.

Top 12 worst drivers list:

1. Lithuania

2. Latvia

3. Estonia

4. Greece

5. Cyprus

6. Iceland

7. Slovakia

8. Italy

9. Ireland

10. Luxembourg

11. Finland

12. Malta