Independent automotive research centre and vehicle safety organisation, Thatcham Research is urging fleets to fit cars with life-saving technologies as it reveals the winners of the 2016 What Car? Car of the Year Safety Award.This year has seen the Volvo XC90 named as the safest new car on sale in Britain, while the Honda Jazz and Toyota Avensis were commended as runners up from among a shortlist of 17 models that all boast the Euro NCAP five-star crash test rating.

In addition all models on the shortlist feature Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) standard on at least one model derivative – which Thatcham Research says is vital to ensure the highest safety standards, including for fleets, following studies showing that it can reduce the likelihood of a front-to-rear crash by almost 40%

Head of research Matthew Avery said: “Not a lot of fleets place their vehicle choices on Euro NCAP five-ratings as they assume all cars these days get full ratings but that’s not the case.

“However Euro NCAP results are great but our message to fleets would be to look for cars that go above and beyond Euro NCAP ratings and don’t just offer five-star ratings but also life-saving technologies such as AEB.”

Avery also said that AEB is still a cost option on a lot of cars, such as the BMW 5 Series, but by increasingly demanding fleet vehicles with it on, fleet managers would help create a supply and demand situation and raise the road safety bar.

He also said that it is worth considering add-on packages such as the XC90’s £1,500 Intellisafe Pro, which brings a host of safety technology such as BLIS (Blind spot information) with Cross Traffic Alert & Rear Collision Mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Aid and Queue Assist.

Thatcham also highlighted the advantages of Adaptive Cruise Control, often offered as part of AEB, which encourages drivers to leave safer distances and can bring the car to a complete stop if a crash is imminent, giving safety and CSR benefits for fleets as well as proving a popular comfort feature with drivers.

Finally, fleets were also advised to start trying out such technologies as manufacturers increasingly move to automated driving.

Avery added: “A lot of manufacturers have one eye on automated driving and from 2019 vehicle manufacturers will legally be able to introduce systems where drivers can take their hands off the wheel/pedals, with obvious productivity benefits. A lot of vehicle manufacturers are plumbing systems in today to offer automated functionality for the future, for example in the Mercedes E-Class and Volvo XC90/ V90. So it is a good time for companies and drivers to try these technologies now to ensure they’re used to them.”