Earlier this week, Global NCAP and the Automobile Association launched the “Safer Cars for Africa” campaign in South Africa, releasing the results of five independent crash tests of popular budget vehicles.
Check out the results (and click through to watch footage of each crash test) here.
Speaking to CARmag.co.za after the launch, the AA called for a “higher level of minimum front- and side-impact protection, as well as ABS and ESC as standard on all new cars” sold in the country, echoing the stance Jean Todt, the UN’s special envoy for road safety, took when visiting Cape Town in October.
“We would hope to see higher safety standards for all cars in South Africa,” Philip Purnell, head of public affairs at AA of South Africa, told us.
“In addition to this, through our proposal for mandatory safety ratings stickers on all cars at point of sale, consumers would be better appraised of the potential risks in purchasing a vehicle and be empowered to make informed choices.”
Purnell said that the “purpose of the crash tests and the resultant publication of the results is intended to educate road-users about vehicle safety and to empower them to make informed decisions about the vehicles that they are buying”.
He added that the AA chose to become involved in this latest initiative since “road safety is a collaborative effort”.
“It is not for one organisation or another, but the responsibility of all road-users. The AA, as the champion of all road-users in South Africa, with an established history of promoting road safety, welcomed the opportunity to partner with the FIA Foundation and Global NCAP on this project. In the end, the decision to be involved was simple and obvious,” he said.
So, who paid for the vehicles and their respective crash tests?
“As with similar tests in other markets, the initiation of the local crash test process has been made possible with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies and the FIA Foundation,” Purnell confirmed.
