Statistically speaking, driving your car is the most dangerous thing you do. In 2017 road traffic accidents were responsible for 1,739 reported deaths and 24,831 serious injuries. While there are certain things you can do to reduce your chances of an accident, we are also at the mercy of other drivers and unfortunately their mistakes could end up costing you too. However, manufacturers recognise the risks involved and thanks to technology, newer models are now designed to be safer than ever before.

All vehicles in today’s market must meet the legal safety requirements, however you’ll find the majority of vehicles come with a EURO NCAP safety rating in addition to this. EURO NCAP are the European New Car Assessment Programme, and they test the safety of vehicles through a series of crash tests.

The tests take into account adult protection, child protection, pedestrian protection and safety assistance – all of which determines the overall star rating of the vehicle. 

The number of stars are awarded as follows:

 5-star safety: Overall good performance in crash protection. Well equipped with robust crash avoidance technology.

 4-star safety: Overall good performance in crash protection; additional crash avoidance technology may be present.

 3-star safety: Average to good occupant protection but lacking crash avoidance technology.

 2-star safety: Nominal crash protection but lacking crash avoidance technology.

 1-star safety: Marginal crash protection.

Euro NCAP safety ratings exceed the minimum legal requirements, so a vehicle that has zero stars is still considered to be safe by legal standards. But given the amount of added protection available in cars that meet the full 5-star Euro NCAP rating, you’d be crazy not to take advantage of the extra safety measures they provide.

Below we’ve listed a few examples of some of the cars which achieved a full 5-star rating, and some of the added safety benefits they bring to the table.

Audi A6 Saloon

Adult occupant 93% | Child occupant 85% | Vulnerable road users 81% | Safety assistance 76% 

This swanky saloon comes with a whole range of safety features, including automatic emergency braking. If you’re momentarily distracted or can’t react quick enough, this could be enough to prevent you and your passengers from a collision.

The A6 also comes with lane-keeping assistance and blind-spot monitoring, making motorway driving a much safer experience. Add to this, it’s pop-up bonnet, to protect pedestrians and cyclists in the event of a collision – the A6 makes driving safer for everyone.

Ford Focus

Adult occupant 85% | Child occupant 87% | Vulnerable road users 72% | Safety assistance 75%

The Focus has been long renowned as one of the safest and most reliable cars on the market. And for 2019 they have pulled out all the stops through the power of smart technologies, making it the safest Focus yet. It’s built-in pedestrian camera scans the road as you drive and if a pedestrian or cyclist is detected a warning will be emitted. If you don’t respond in time, the system will react for you, applying full braking force to prevent the possibility of a serious collision.

If you’re unlucky enough to get caught up in an accident, there are 7 airbags positioned from all angles to shield you from danger and direct you away from the impacted area.

Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Adult occupant 85% | Child occupant 87% | Vulnerable road users 72% | Safety assistance 75% 

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is another fantastic example of how technology can improve safety. With Car-to-X communication the new A-Class can identify potential hazards such as the tail end of a traffic jam, before it’s even in sight, significantly reducing the chances of an accident.

The A-Class even comes with PRE-SAFE sound generation, a technology which generates a noise signal through the speakers to help reduce the damage to your ears from the noise of a crash.

Lexus ES

Adult occupant 91% | Child occupant 87% | Vulnerable road users 90% | Safety assistance 77% 

Not only did the Lexus ES achieve the full 5-star safety rating, it also achieved the highest individual scores for each category, proving it to be the safest large family car and hybrid that was tested in 2018. Its standard package provides autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control, to minimize the chances of a collision as much as possible.

And if that’s not enough, optional features include four high-resolution cameras mounted on the front, sides and rear of the vehicle, allowing you a full panoramic view to help you achieve maximum visibility, allowing you to spot hazards from all sides.