2012 Honda Civic aims for top safety rating

It’s probably no surprise to hear that Honda will be wanting a maximum, 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating for their new Civic, when the final test results are soon finalized. And they’ve engineered in plenty of new tech to satisfy the safety testers now - and in 2012, when the testing gets tougher - with the aim to keep their ninth generation Civic attractively safe for buyers looking at the new car in dealers as of January next year; and into the future of this model’s lifetime.

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European car safety assessment programme based in Brussels, Belgium, founded in 1997 and now the safety-standard throughout Western Europe. Their highest rating is a 5-star, but within this top rating the separate safety performance of the car is monitored in several subsections; including pedestrian safety.

Pedestrian safety is where even some 5 star cars score less impressively, with occupant safety the main attraction for manufactures in recent years. But, as this film from Honda shows; the new Civic looks out for our two-legged friends too, with external features including windscreen wiper pivots designed to break away on impact and energy absorbing front wing mounts. 

“Just as important as technology that protects you in a crash is technology that helps you avoid an accident in the first place,” explains Mitsuru Kariya, Civic Development Leader. “This is the first time that the CMBS system has been introduced on the Civic in Europe.” 

Honda’s Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) monitors the distance and closing rate between your vehicle and the car directly in front of it, warning the driver when a collision is likely and helping reduce impact when a collision becomes unavoidable. The technology automatically assists with heavy braking and tightens the seat belts to reduce loading on the driver during an accident, should it sense an imminent fender-bender. Honda believe that if every car in Europe had this rear-ender avoiding tech, that up to 250,000 accidents a year could be avoided. 

But, should the unavoidable happen, there’s one more built-in safety back up inside the new Civic, called an Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure. This is a front-mounted polygonal – many-cornered - frame that is designed to prevent the cabin becoming deformed by distributing forces away from the passenger compartment, when the impact strikes. The latest in crumple zones, basically. 









Honda’s Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) monitors the distance and closing rate between your vehicle and the car directly in front of it, warning the driver when a collision is likely and helping reduce impact when a collision becomes unavoidable






The Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure is a front-mounted polygonal – many-cornered - frame that is designed to prevent the cabin becoming deformed by distributing forces away from the passenger compartment, when the impact strikes

 
More crumples on the outside should mean less crumples on the inside

www.honda.co.uk/cars/


By Daniel Anslow

Follow us @TotallyMotor