The final workshop of the VC-COMPAT project was a great success with interests from all over the world. The workshop held at the DAF museum in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 17 and 18 October 2006 consisted out of a joint session where car industry and truck industry presented and discussed together the outcome form the VC-COMPAT project. Also the possibility to align both (completely different road users) was discussed. In the separate sessions for passenger cars and trucks the results of the project and results from research in the US and Asia were presented in more detail and discussed. The handouts of the presentations presented are available on this website, the notes taken during the sessions will be available soon. Click here To give an impression of the workshop, a photograph is presented of the audience.

Traffic related accidents are still a major threat to life in the European Union. Illustrative in this respect is the annual toll of more than 40,000 people killed and over 1,6 million injured, putting an unacceptable high social and economical burden on the EU. The social costs are estimated over 160 billion Euro per year in the EU alone. One in 80 European citizens will end their lives too early in a road accident. Of those fatalities, 50-65 % are car occupants and 50-60% of those (i.e. 15,000 people) die in car-to-car/car-to-truck collisions. This project aims to develop a suite of crash test procedures, which once implemented, will lead to an improvement in vehicle crash compatibility.

The VC-Compat project will develop a suite of crash test procedures leading to improved vehicle crash compatibility. Studies have suggested that improved compatibility could reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities by as much as a third in accidents where a car collides with another vehicle. It is also expected that the resulting structural improvements will increase protection in many single-vehicle accidents. In regards to car-to-truck collisions, an EEVC study indicates a 20-30% reduction in fatalities where the trucks equipped with a rigid or energy absorbing under-run device.

The following tasks are to be accomplished in this project. Regarding car-to-car impact: First to draw up a suite of draft test procedures and associated performance criteria for car-to-car impacts. Secondly to build a framework for a crash compatibility rating system. Thirdly to improve the understanding for vehicle crash compatibility with general recommendations for the design of compatible cars. Regarding car-to-truck impact: First to set up test procedures and associated performance criteria to assess and control truck frontal structures for frontal impact compatibility with cars. Secondly identify suggestions for improving rear and side under-run safety. An overall goal is an indication of the benefits and costs of improved compatibility for both car-to-car and car-to-truck.

The VC-Compat project is funded under the GROWTH programme of the European Commission.