Three stars for Ford, Suzuki work vans in crash test
BY JAMES STANFORD | 16th Feb 2009
ANCAP partners including the RACV, VicRoads and the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) have used the release of the latest van results to call for design improvements to protect the legs of van drivers.
The official test data revealed that while the APV’s passenger compartment held its shape “relatively” well in the 64km/h frontal offset crash, the footwell was deemed to offer “poor” protection from serious leg injuries for the driver.
The same test also showed the Transit van’s passenger compartment “lost integrity” and showed “poor” protection from serious leg injury to the driver as well as “weak” protection for the driver and passenger.
Last year, ANCAP released crash test results for five vans which showed safety levels varied dramatically between models.
The Mercedes Vito, Volkswagen Caddy and Transporter all earned four stars, the Toyota HiAce scored three stars and the Mitsubishi Express scored just one star.
In a joint statement, the ANCAP partners said the four-star vans had all shown only a slight risk of leg injury.
“These four-star vans demonstrate that these types of vehicle can be designed to minimise leg injury,” they said.
The ANCAP partners said light commercial vans made up a large proportion of vehicles purchased in Australia, and they called for manufacturers to lift the safety standards of the workhorses as they had done with cars.
“Passenger vehicles are now scoring consistent four and five-star safety ratings, which is great news for private motorists and their families, but with so many commercial vehicles being sold in Australia we encourage manufacturers to make these high-use vans more safe,” they said.
RACV chief engineer Michael Case called on employers to avoid any vehicle that achieved a score of less than four stars.
“We would encourage buyers to look for four stars and realise that a three-star vehicle comes with inherent risks,” he said.
He said that the risk of lower body injury demonstrated in both the Transit and APV could have a serious impact on the driver and passenger.
“While it is easy to think “Oh, that is not life threatening,” it is not OK because those injuries could be debilitating,” he said.
Mr Case said that apart from the physical and mental pain of the driver or passenger, if they work for a business, their employer would also pay a price.
“Employers would have people who drive or ride in those vehicles who are going to be spending a lot of time off work as they recover.” Mr Case said that employers should take the ANCAP star ratings into account when purchasing fleet vehicles.
“Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace to employees and that extends to vehicles used for work purposes,” he said.
“There is an obligation on employers now that this information is available.” Mr Case said the RACV had noticed fleet managers taking more notice of safety when it came to purchasing, although it had no hard data on whether this was translating into action on the showroom floor.
“We had fleet managers ask us for information regarding test results to use in the purchase decision,” he said.
“Fleet customers appear to be increasingly aware of their obligations and the occupational health and safety requirements.”
Read more:
ANCAP holds firmCommodore now a five-star safety car