Dekra and the myth of the safe bus trip

Strong stuff is what we dished up since yesterday evening, "the first" of public television. Advance of the understanding, perhaps this: The online portal of the DEKRA, Germany's largest audit firm is associated with the note: "According to reads and hears of dangerous bus accidents. And even though you actually know that the bus trip is statistically one of the safest modes of transportation to ask, many still: Can you really feel safe, "Yes, can it?? - The Dekra presents with such comments themselves in the foot.

ACE: 43 mountain passes blocked further

In the high mountains of the precipitation falls mostly as snow still, so the traffic is impeded in parts. According to the Auto Club Europa (ACE) are currently still closed 43 for the through traffic. Opened again reported to the Larche pass (F / I) was. Temporarily closed the pass is Lautaret in France.

The club advises mountain roads to drive only with full winter gear, including snow chains and about the traffic conditions on the Alpine passes each to-date information on the web. Compared to last week the Larche pass in France and Italy is opened and closed the Lautaret pass temporarily.

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Euro NCAP: electric cars get five stars

The consumer protection organization Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) has re-evaluated a number of vehicles in a crash test. It reached the identical Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars, and Peugeot Citroën C-Zero ion the top rating of five stars. Also received five stars were the Hyundai ix20, X1 Mitsubishi ASX, the Juke Nissan and BMW.

Largely because of significant weaknesses in assistance systems for pedestrian protection and it was enough for the Dacia Duster 4 × 4 only for three stars. This became known only optional and only available for certain models and the lack of ESP rear airbags negative impact. Infiniti won the special safety award "Advanced Reward" for the camera-based lane keeping assistant "Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) in the FX.

GTÜ testing season tires with low rolling resistance

The Society for Technical Supervision (GTÜ) compared seven brands of tires 205/55 R16 91 V. The balancing act between optimized rolling resistance and safety in wet weather creates only one of the test candidates, Continental Sport Contact 2 Rolling resistance plays with steadily rising fuel prices for motorists an increasingly important role.

But for some eco-tires, the safety margins remain especially in wet conditions on the track. Multifunctional properties of the tires are usually underdeveloped. This is the result of the joint summer tire test of the standards authority and the Auto Club Europa (ACE). Winner with a grade of "highly recommended" took into consideration all evaluation criteria for the summer tires Continental Sport Contact 2 (296 € for four tires).