The Euro NCAP continues to set the agenda with new, more demanding challenges on safety technology to help protect vulnerable road users, including the introduction of the first cycling detection test for AEB.
The five-star result for the new Nissan Leaf published recently echoes the success of the original Leaf introduced in 2011. It was then the first all-electric car rated five stars by Euro NCAP.
With consumers turning away from conventional engines, especially diesel, and car manufacturers investing heavily in electric and hybrid vehicles, it is crucial that advancements in safety are not compromised by new powertrain systems.
The Nissan Leaf comes with many new safety features and demonstrates that environmental friendliness need not come at the expense of the safety of those inside the car and those who share road-space with it.
The Leaf is the first car to be assessed against Euro NCAP’s improved and extended protocols for 2018. As road casualty numbers plateau, more action is needed to ensure that new vehicles offer the latest and best safety technology.
For this reason, 2018 sees the introduction of a raft of new tests in Euro NCAP’s assessments, addressing key crash scenarios involving cars, pedestrians and now also the growing number of cyclists.
Cyclist-detection with auto brake technology is tested for the first time on the Leaf and is included with AEB Pedestrian in a new designation called AEB Vulnerable Road Users (AEB VRU ).
Detecting cyclists presents new challenges to car manufacturers, both from a hardware and a software perspective: sensors must have a wide angle of view to detect fast-moving cyclists in good time, and complex algorithms are needed to ensure correct identification of potential collision threats while avoiding false activations.
