Improved Car Design Could Save 1200 Lives

Improved Car Design Could Save 1200 Lives
The lives of more than 1,200 pedestrians and cyclists could be saved over the next five years if car manufacturers accelerated safety improvements, a report says today.

The Transport Research Laboratory study concluded that 1,700 fatalities and 42,000 serious injuries to pedestrians and cyclists could be prevented across Europe each year if manufacturers produced cars meeting design requirements scheduled to become mandatory in 2010.

Britain's projected annual share of such casualties would be 255 dead and 6,300 seriously injured.

The report, commissioned by transport administrators and motoring organisations in the European NCAP safety group, called for the speeding up of design changes.

These include repositioning and restructuring the front bumper to absorb energy and reduce the chances of leg breakage, the "softening" of the leading edge of the bonnet and less rigid reinforcement under the bonnet. This should cost about �70 per vehicle.

Claes Tingvall, the chairman of Euro NCAP said: "The killing has got to stop, not tomorrow, not in 2010, but now.

"For every day we lose, five people across Europe will die and 115 will be seriously injured. Manufacturers have had the ability to save this pain and suffering for years - but have chosen not to."

A health campaign group, Headway, said road accidents were a