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7/3/2007
As Director of the Monash University Accident Research Centre, Professor Ian Johnston is regarded as one of Australia’s foremost experts on road safety. He is a strong advocate of vehicle safety developments – both active and passive safety - and the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), which Subaru actively supports too.
Ian is a passionate promoter of those proven technologies that can save lives in the event of a major collision.
It is therefore gratifying for Subaru that Ian has chosen an Outback 2.5i Premium as his retirement vehicle, having had company cars for the last couple of decades. After a career spanning 40 years devoted to transport safety, Ian carefully evaluated the type of vehicle to buy after decades in an employer-provided car. “I wanted a car that embraces the latest developments in both active and passive safety, but is within a reasonable price range,” he said. “Many vehicles offer curtain side impact airbags and advanced crumple zone technology, but All-Wheel Drive, combined with a relatively low centre of gravity, and the availability of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on the Outback were key factors in my decision.” Prof. Johnston would like to see ESC offered as standard across entire vehicle ranges. While he believes that the automotive industry is ahead of the regulatory regime in the application of safety innovations, he does not feel that enough is being done to promote safety to the consumer. He advocates government and corporate car fleet buyers specify safety features as an integral part of the purchase process, if only because of their “obligations” under their occupational health and safety duty of care. “Vehicles form part of the workplace for a whole range of people, from tradesmen, company representatives and executives driving between meetings, to the obvious group of taxi and delivery drivers. “In Australia the proportion of people driving fleet vehicles is very high and as such fleet buyers should be obligated to specify safety.” While Subaru prominently advertises its ANCAP crashworthiness ratings, Ian believes automotive brands should generally do more to promote the safety features of their cars – more emphasis on safety and less on power and performance. He says many people have been touched by the road toll – he lost a sister-in-law in a cycling accident. As a result, there is a market for safety, but not enough is being done to develop it. “Governments, organizations like mine and the automotive industry have a responsibility to better highlight the benefits of safety features,” he added. Prof. Johnston is looking forward to spending some of his free time safely touring in his five-star ANCAP-rated Outback. From: http://www.subaru.com.au/about-subaru/news/breaking-news/2007/03/07/accident_expert_drives_outback/ |
