Thatcham is a name that readily springs to mind when it comes to road safety but did you know that last year, in 2019, Thatcham Research celebrated its fiftieth birthday? Thatcham Research has been around a lot longer than most people realise.
Car safety and indeed cars have changed exponentially over the last five decades and Thatcham has been involved every step of the way, driving down insurance premiums and testing new vehicles to inform key safety changes throughout the motor industry many of which we take for granted today. However, Thatcham’s Chief Executive, Jonathan Hewett, maintains that in the next five years, motorists will see even more changes collectively than they have done in the last fifty years combined.
Some interesting facts about Thatcham Research
- Thatcham was founded by the motor insurance industry
- It’s stated aim was to improve vehicle standards and improve the quality of car repairs
- Thatcham has trained more than 1,500 engineering experts via its apprenticeship scheme
- Crash testing has become ever more sophisticated and people can now survive accidents which were previously fatal due to changes in motor manufacturing
- In 2007, Thatcham Research joined Euro NCAP which awards star ratings for car safety features. Manufacturers now compete to gain the coveted highest level of a five-star NCAP safety rating
- Matthew Avery, the Director of Research at Thatcham, reports that 15,000 lives have been saved in the last twenty years due to research-led and inspired safety improvements
- Thatcham Research has led the testing of the new AEB systems – Autonomous Emergency Braking which can reduce crashes by up to 38%
- Many motorists have mainly heard of Thatcham for their work in the field of car security helping to prevent theft both of the car itself and items contained within it. Thatcham Research helped to reduce car crime by up to 80% from its peak levels during the early 1990s developing security standards across the motor industry still in place today. Now, the focus has shifted to protecting vehicles against digital theft
- Thatcham predict that driver assistance and automation are going to be the biggest changes the motor industry experiences in the next few years – this is going to make cars increasingly complex and sophisticated
- Thatcham are at the forefront of the training for the emerging technologies establishing a new generation of experts with the requisite skills to respond to the developments in motor manufacturing
- Thatcham's input is more influential than ever providing data and insight to carmakers, insurers and the motoring public – Thatcham drive change
Cars through the decades, which ones have been influential in Thatcham research?
In the 1970s, Thatcham used the 1973 Ford Cortina Mark 3 for impact testing. Known by Thatcham as ‘the Bullet’, Thatcham used three Ford Cortinas for front, side and rear impact testing. These cars were then repaired and re-used, specifically to inform the quality and cost of repair for subsequent accidents as well to lead ground-breaking testing into impact safety measures on new cars. This led to the adoption of ‘door skins’ by car makers which meant a repair shop did not need to fit a whole new door each time an accident occurred saving the insurance industry money and impacting on premium levels.
In the 1980s, Thatcham turned their attention to the Chrysler Calspan which came to Thatcham in 1980 from the States for research into both collision damage and repair cost as well as impact testing specifically to inform engineers about the difference between the stability of bumpers on US and UK car models. Thatcham’s research led to a global standard for bumper design.
In the 1990s, car crime had hit previously unseen levels and one of the most popular models for car thieves was the Peugeot 205 GTI. Consequently, Thatcham used the 1993 Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9 model to build the template for its new Vehicle Security Assessment programme. This saw the development of features like car alarms and double-locking doors which had a major impact on the reduction of car crime during this decade by about 80%.
In the 2000s, whiplash was the focus and Thatcham used the 2001 Saab 93 and the Volvo 850 to inform the industry about anti-whiplash seats. The International Insurance Whiplash Prevention Working Group and the whiplashing testing programme saw Thatcham Research join Euro NCAP by invitation. This was all about designing car seats to reduce the impact of whiplash in a collision.
From 2010 to 2020, the 2012 Volvo XC60 was Thatcham’s interest as this was the first car to be produced with AEB – Autonomous Emergency Braking – using the LIDAR system. This was the cornerstone for Thatcham’s research and now Advanced Driver Assistance Systems are becoming more commonplace on new cars. AEB can reduce front to rear collisions by around 38%.
So, what lies ahead for the next decade? Huge changes if the predictions of Thatchams’ CEO are anything to go by. The main influencers are going to be the use of alternative fuels – hybrid and electric technology – and the increasing prevalence of automated driving or Artificial Intelligence. Automation represents massive safety possibilities for the motor industry but also, uniquely, involves its own enormous safety challenges. One thing is for sure, Thatcham Research is going to remain at the forefront of industry-wide testing and research for decades to come, developing and informing new opportunities for safety, repair, economy and training in the years ahead.
For the ordinary motorist, the importance of Thatcham may just pass them by but if you want to boil it down, Thatcham is about two things – safer car design across all makes and models and cheaper repairs which directly impact on the cost of motor insurance. The ABI report that more than 50% of the money paid out in insurance claims goes on repairing cars. It is Thatcham research which is keeping cars as safe as possible, Thatcham Research which drives down insurance premiums and Thatcham Research which tests out the emerging technologies to ensure they are safe and fit for purpose.
