Continental is engaging in dialog with the NCAP consumer protection organization with the aim of further reducing the number of road accident casualties. New technologies are already in development today to meet the active safety requirements of the future. Always in compliance with global laws – and with Continental’s “Vision Zero.” The Regulatory Affairs department within Continental Automotive is responsible for this complex coordination. Dr. Olaf Schädler and Heiner Hunold are two experts on this important topic.
- Mr. Hunold, Dr. Schädler, with “Vision Zero” Continental is pursuing the goal of a world in which nobody will suffer serious injuries or be killed on the roads. To this end, you are working together with consumer protection organizations such as NCAP and ADAC as well as international bodies to develop and maintain approval regulations for active safety. It should be noted that approval regulations are mandatory for automotive manufacturers, while the assessment of active safety systems by consumer protection organizations plays a decisive role when it comes to performance. The star rating awarded by consumer protection organizations, in particular that of Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme), is an important development criterion in the industry. What role do these consumer protection tests play for “Vision Zero”?
Dr. Olaf Schädler: A very big one. Consumer protection, legislators and we as a company share the same goal: of a world without serious injuries and road fatalities. The greatest motivator for the NCAP organizations as well as for us as a company is to prevent road accident casualties. While the focus of Euro NCAP is on Europe, other markets have their own individual NCAP organizations. We work together with the relevant organizations to develop our technologies in line with the individual security requirements of each region. This enables our customers, the automotive manufacturers, to achieve the best possible results in the various consumer protection tests.
Heiner Hunold: And the requirements of the consumer protection organizations are just one of the poles that we use as a guide. The other is the legislator with all the rules and regulations for approving these systems across the entire vehicle. We operate between these two poles, both of which are crucial for the development of innovative technologies.
- What practical impact does this have on development work? Do you have to pore over legal texts and consumer protection guidelines before every new development?
Heiner Hunold: Yes, pretty much. However, we have a lot of experience in accessing the necessary information in good time and assessing what will be required in the future. It is crucial that all new laws and regulations, including those already in the planning stage, are taken into account early on in our development work. There are countless regulations to be observed at a global level, which are also constantly being adapted.
Dr. Olaf Schädler: The same applies to consumer protection, whereby the aim is to make vehicles as safe as possible, going above and beyond the legal requirements. Top scores in the various assessments are an important development criterion today. Incidentally, the alliance between industry and consumer protection serves both sides. We support the NCAP organization in defining the tests, while also taking technical feasibility into account, in order to make the roads safer. On the other hand, the equipment rates for advanced driver assistance systems are being increased by the assessments of the NCAP organizations.
Heiner Hunold: That’s an important point! We see this, for example, with the testing of safety systems for pedestrian protection. We need to make sure that the “targets,” as we call them somewhat matter-of-factly, or in other words the pedestrian dummies, are as realistic as possible in their movements and in their behavior. Whether it is a dummy or a person crossing the road should make no difference to the system being tested. As a developer of systems for automated driving, safety systems, sensors and advanced driver assistance systems, we not only advise the NCAP organizations on the development of test protocols, but also the manufacturers of test targets on the development of dummies for humans, animals, vehicles and motorcyclists.
- At the end of 2022, Euro NCAP – the European consumer protection organization – adopted a “Vision 2030” roadmap. What does this mean in concrete terms for Continental’s vision of a world without accidents?
Dr. Olaf Schädler: We must not only consider the current NCAP test protocols, but also have knowledge of future test requirements. In our research and development centers, our colleagues are working three to ten years ahead within the world of mobility. For new developments, regulations that are valid today may no longer be relevant on their own. Currently, for example, the regulations for the 2023–2025 time frame apply. In 2026, there will be an update to the Euro NCAP assessment that was announced in “Vision 2030.” Our company will be informed of the future requirements in good time so that the development teams will have sufficient time to ensure implementation.
Heiner Hunold: For example, Continental has developed a feature that detects any children that have been left behind in a parked car. This detection feature combines new developments and proven technologies and has been part of the Euro NCAP assessment since 2023. Millions of sensor systems that are already in use work together with new software applications. Thanks to the NCAP roadmaps for various markets, we are already able to take into account future realignments of extended test requirements for this feature.
Dr. Olaf Schädler: Another example is the protection of cyclists as they approach a parked vehicle from behind. We have developed a system that prevents a cyclist from colliding with a carelessly opened car door. We can use radar sensors that have been built into the rear of the car to warn the driver if a cyclist is approaching the vehicle from behind. Road users that are not yet taken into account, such as e-scooters, will be taken into account in future consumer protection assessments and in our systems.
- The realignment of the test scenarios is evolving very quickly. New requirements are now to be met every three years.
Heiner Hunold: That’s right. The high NCAP rate is a response to new legal regulations in Europe. The general safety regulations of the European Union (General Safety Regulation Part II) aim to make road traffic even safer. This applies, for example, to advanced driver assistance systems such as emergency brake assist systems for children crossing the road or cyclists. The resulting ramp-up in legal requirements for the approval of emergency brake assist systems also leads in turn to an extension of consumer protection protocols by increasing the test requirements.
Dr. Olaf Schädler: Incidentally, this also applies to the commercial vehicle sector, with particular emphasis on turn assist systems. The turning of commercial vehicles in towns and cities is an important use case, since too many turn-off accidents still result in fatalities. The EU has responded to this and introduced a corresponding approval regulation. Newly produced vehicles that do not meet the technological requirements stipulated in the regulation will no longer be approved. While fuel consumption, maintenance costs and pay load are important purchasing criteria when buying a truck, the focus is now also shifting to safety as a result of legislation as well as Euro NCAP tests. This trend is also supported by accident research. For example, our accident research analysis revealed that around 1,200 pedestrians are injured in accidents involving trucks and delivery vehicles in Germany.
- Due to a boom in online retail?
Dr. Olaf Schädler: Exactly. The change in consumer shopping behavior is an important reason for the number of accidents involving small delivery vans. People are increasingly ordering online, and more parcels are being sent, which means there are more trucks and delivery vans on the roads. Our research also found that smaller delivery vans are similar to passenger cars in terms of driving behavior, but are not optimally equipped with advanced driver assistance systems.
Heiner Hunold: That’s where Euro NCAP comes into play. Consumer protection is now addressing the issue of delivery vans and trucks. This in turn means that manufacturers – and technology companies such as Continental – have to consider new test arrangements for transportation vehicles when developing systems. Something like this can happen very quickly: Euro NCAP announced the truck assessment in April 2024, and the first assessment catalog for commercial vehicles will be published in November 2024.
Dr. Olaf Schädler: The bottom line is that consumer protection through competition ensures that consumers are informed about the vehicles with the best systems. As a partner to automotive manufacturers, we provide advanced driver assistance systems and sensors that complement consumer protection and comply with the relevant approval regulations and their minimum requirements. In this way, the different cogs in the wheel – namely manufacturers, suppliers, consumer protection and the respective approval regulations – interlock to achieve one thing together: making road traffic safer and making “Vision Zero” a reality.
