Vehicle safety experts at the Thatcham Research Centre have revealed that the number of third party personal injury claims involving the current model Volkswagen Golf has plummeted following the introduction of auto-emergency braking systems.
“These findings are based on the equivalent of more than 7,000 Mk VII Golf models insured for a full 12 months on the road, and come from claims data from our insurance members,” said Matthew Avery, Director of Safety at Thatcham Research. “When we saw figures based on an initial small sample, we were surprised, as they exceeded our own performance testing. However the figures held up, even after almost doubling the sample group, and have therefore given us a glimpse of what safety on UK roads could look like in the future.”
Adaptive Cruise Control with radar sensor controlled Front Assist and City Emergency Braking systems has been standard on all but the entry-level S model since the latest generation Golf went on sale just over two years ago. Over that time, third party insurance claims for the Golf are 45 per cent lower than average for cars in its class according to Thatcham’s data. The systems are designed to maintain distance between vehicles in front by alerting the driver or applying preventative braking, minimising the effect of impact. The Adaptive Cruise Control is effective up to speeds of 99mph, with City Emergency Braking operating below 18mph.
Volkswagen have applied the same systems to the new Passat, which went on UK sale at the start of this year, and which also includes the technology as standard on all but the entry-level S models, and as optional extras on selected models in the Polo, Touareg, and up! ranges.
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