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WHO urges global car safety effort

Posted on 05 June, 2017

World Health Organization ambassador Michael Bloomberg has urged car makers and governments around the world to increase their commitment to car safety in developing countries ahead of the 25th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles in Detroit. “Around the world, road crashes kill an estimated 1.3 million people each year and injure up to 50 million,” Bloomberg said. “Automakers — including U.S. and European companies — routinely sell cars without many of the basic safety protections that are standard here at home. Often, they are sold without airbags or electronic stability systems.” The World Health Organization has said that 90 per cent of crash fatalities occur in low- and- middle income countries, and projects that 40,000 lives could be saved in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico by 2030 if minimum safety standards are followed. However, car makers in the US and Europe have been producing vehicles for low-income markets without airbags and other basic safety features, claiming that omitting the extra features keep the vehicles affordable. “Meeting those standards is not expensive,” Bloomberg said. “The difference in building a car to the highest or lowest safety ratings can be as small as a couple hundred dollars.” Of the 10 top-selling vehicle models in Mexico, four have a safety rating of zero stars, meaning a passenger is not likely to survive a crash. One such model is the American-manufactured Chevy Spark, which has the highest safety rating available in the US. Several US and European-made vehicles have also arrived in the New Zealand market missing safety features and driver assistance technologies recently, including the highly-anticipated Ford Mustang, which launched in New Zealand late last year. The muscle car received top ratings from the American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), but received a two-star safety rating from Australasian watchdog ANCAP.  “Ford recently unveiled its newest models in the United States, which appear to have more safety assist and crash prevention technology on board, but they’re not expected in New Zealand until the end of the next year,” AA general manager Stella Stocks said in January. “Also, we won’t know what will be included on the New Zealand models yet.” The latest Toyota Prius, released last year, also lacked additional AEB technology found in American and European models. "While it's understandable that manufacturers want to keep the price down, we urge them not to undervalue New Zealanders or their safety and want to see the same safety features available overseas offered here," said NZ Automobile Association's network support manager, Philip Collings, said last October. “Foreign consumers who think that all cars manufactured by General Motors are built according to U.S. safety standards are tragically mistaken,” Bloomberg said. “It demands an urgent response.” “Automakers should make voluntary commitments that all of their cars swiftly reach or exceed the safety standards adopted by the United Nations.” “At the same time, governments should create and enforce better vehicle safety standards.”