Car makers: protect pedestrians better! - Car manufacturers have done nothing

Most cars examined since 2002, when Euro NCAP introduced the current pedestrian safety test, achieve a disappointing one or two stars out of four. Only one, the Citroen C6, has ever achieved a maximum score.

French and Japanese car makers - particularly Peugeot-Citroen and Honda - tend to achieve the best pedestrian safety ratings, while some German companies with long-standing safety reputations do not stand up at all well.

Large 4x4s and MPVs are not always more dangerous to pedestrians than small cars, either: there are lots of superminis and small family cars with one-star ratings.

So why isn't more being done about this? Read on.