Other safety ratings in use or under development

Work-related safety ratings in Sweden

Swedish trade unions in cooperation with environmental and road safety organisations have developed a ranking system for heavy goods transport. This ranking system is called Q3 and is modelled on Euro NCAP. It is based on working environment, environmental and road safety requirements (http://www.q3.se/). While the system has limited coverage to date, it is becoming well accepted and is considered a worthwhile initiative.

ETSC PIN ratings

The ETSC's Road Safety Performance (PIN) Index is a new policy instrument to help EU Member States in improving road safety. Started in June 2006, the Index covers several areas of road safety including road user behaviour, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as road safety policymaking more generally. National research organisations and independent researchers from 30 countries participating in the programme are ensuring that any assessment carried out within the programme is based on scientific evidence and is effectively communicated to European road safety policymakers.

To facilitate the collection of accurate data from all 27 EU Member States, as well as Norway, Switzerland and Israel, ETSC has set up a the PIN Panel of national focal points comprising 30 high level national experts from ETSC's network of member organisations and other organisations.

Eight individuals, who are particularly committed to ETSC and road safety policy, form the PIN Steering Committee providing guidance to the PIN Programme Secretariat.

PIN to date has concentrated on final outcomes - the fall or otherwise in road deaths - as well as intermediate outcomes for speed, seatbelt wearing and drink driving. For key findings to date, see

PIN publications.

The ETSC PIN programme comprises:

PIN Flashes - profile-raising quarterly overviews of specific road safety topics
PIN Reports - wider-ranging annual reviews of a range road safety performance indices
PIN International events - to launch the annual PIN Reports
PIN Talks- National events in each Member State to encourage that country's road safety effort

Pin Flash 6, October 2007

"Following up on Road Safety PIN Flash 2, issued in September 2006, this latest ranking under the PIN Programme shows that between 2001 and 2006, Luxembourg, France and Portugal, three countries with a medium level of road safety, have progressed best. These countries have reached a reduction in road deaths more than 40% over five years. However, in Lithuania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Estonia and Romania, the number of road deaths was higher in 2006 than in 2001. Only a slight reduction was registered in Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

If current trends continue, the European Union will not reach its target in 2010. This is true for the new, enlarged Union and even for the old Union of 15 Member States. Estimates show that the target of a maximum 25,000 deaths per year for the EU-25 will be reached only in 2015 if current efforts are not substantially enhanced. We need a new, fresh impetus in all countries if we want to make up for this delay and deliver what the citizens of Europe deserve - a safe and sustainable road transport system that safeguards the highest level of protection for everyone across the continent."

Source: ETSC, 2007

New Programme for the Assessment of Child-restraint Systems NPACS

The objective of NPACS (currently under development) is the establishment of scientifically based EU wide harmonised test and rating protocols that will provide consumers with clear and understandable information about how much protection a CRS can provide during a crash as well as the usability of child restraint systems.