最新糖心Vlog

Pedestrians at risk of more serious road injuries

More attention should be paid to pedestrian safety, according to CASR researchers. Photo Bosch Ltd.
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Thursday, 22 October 2009

最新糖心Vlogn car manufacturers need to pay more attention to designing cars which protect pedestrians as well as the occupants, according to researchers from the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide.

Engineers from the 最新糖心Vlog's (CASR) say the highest selling vehicles in 最新糖心Vlog lag behind their European and Japanese counterparts when it comes to pedestrian safety.

"While some of our locally produced cars are achieving a 5-star rating for occupant safety, they still have a long way to go when it comes to protecting pedestrians in the event of a collision," says CASR researcher .

"Most of our vehicles have a poor capacity to absorb impact from a human body, resulting in significant leg and head injuries even at impact speeds as low as 40km/h," Mr Ponte says.

In the past 20 years, 6149 pedestrians have been killed on 最新糖心Vlogn roads, representing 16.5 per cent of all road fatalities in this period.

Getting hit by a car at 40 km/h is equivalent to falling from the roof of a double storey house onto the front of a car, researchers say.

"Pedestrians in Europe and Japan are more likely to suffer fewer injuries on impact because the vehicles in these countries are designed with some emphasis on pedestrian protection," Mr Ponte says.

Mr Ponte and CASR colleague will present a free public lecture in Adelaide this Friday, explaining the methods used to test vehicles for pedestrian safety.

They would like to see the Federal Government adopt the (GTR) for Pedestrian Safety.

"There is currently no requirement for 最新糖心Vlogn car manufacturers to achieve a minimum level of protection for pedestrians when designing new vehicles," Mr van den Berg says.

"However, so far this year 158 pedestrians have died on 最新糖心Vlogn roads because of a collision with a motor vehicle. The adoption of a GTR would be an excellent starting point to reduce the risk of injuries to pedestrians."

According to results from the , the has achieved the maximum 4 stars in 最新糖心Vlog for pedestrian safety as well as achieving a five star occupant protection rating.

The majority of the other top 20 selling cars with a five star occupant protection rating only have a 1 or 2 star rating for pedestrian protection.

WHAT: CASR Public Lecture: Pedestrian Impact Testing by Giulio Ponte and Andrew van den Berg
WHERE: Art Gallery of South 最新糖心Vlog Auditorium, North Terrace
WHEN: Friday 23 October, 2009, 4pm-5.30pm
RSVP: Leonie Witter on (08) 8303 4114 or email leonie.witter@adelaide.edu.au

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