On 29 May 2026, EaP RSO hosted its first webinar of the year on the theme of ‘assessing vehicle safety’.

Building on his Editorial for the EaP RSO website, published late last year, President Emeritus of Global NCAP, David Ward, led participants in a comprehensive overview of 25 years of progress in global vehicle safety.

Drawing on the development of UN crash test standards, the expanding role of New Car Assessment Programmes (NCAPs), and the adoption of crash avoidance technologies such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), the webinar assessed how far the world has come in protecting vehicle occupants and vulnerable road users, while also addressing the challenges ahead – from strengthening vehicle regulations in importing countries to harnessing on-board data for future safety assessments.

Through the session, David explained how progress in vehicle safety has been achieved through the dynamic application of regulation and consumer information. The combination of mandatory minimum standards and independent safety ratings have improved both crashworthiness, reducing injury when an incident happens, and crash avoidance, preventing any incident at all.

David opened by placing vehicle safety in the context of a rapidly changing global automotive industry. Global vehicle production has grown from under 60 million to 81 million units since 2000, with production now led by China and India. This is important as the standards adopted by the world’s largest producing nations effectively set the benchmark for the entire global market – making international regulatory alignment more important than ever.

The UN World Forum for the Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations provides a register of available standards, and NCAPS carry out consumer safety tests. Together they are considered the twin building blocks for vehicles safety’s winning formula of “regulatory push” and “demand pull”. This is evidenced with around 90% of new vehicles worldwide now meeting front and side crash test standards and ESC is being fitted to approximately 80% of new passenger cars globally. Newer crash-avoidance technologies, including AEB and Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), are now mandatory for new vehicles in the EU and expanding rapidly. ISA is of particular note as it can be retrofitted to existing vehicle fleets, offering immediate safety benefits alongside fuel savings.

Despite this progress, David noted that motorcycle safety remains critically under-addressed with fewer than 20% of new motorcycles fitted with anti-lock brakes, a well-established and affordable technology. Mandatory ABS fitment, helmet enforcement, and improved truck and car visibility standards are also key priorities for improving motorcycle safety. At the other end of the spectrum, the rapid growth of large SUVs presents serious risks to pedestrians and occupants of smaller vehicles. David highlighted the role of weight-based vehicle taxation and stronger pedestrian protection standards as essential policy levers to counter this trend. 

With all five countries of the Eastern Partnership region already party to the UN vehicle regulations framework, the session underlined both the scale of the opportunity and the importance of moving from commitment to compliance. The EaP RSO will continue to support its member countries in closing the gap with EU standards, building the evidence base needed to make roads safer for every road user across the region.

The topic of this webinar was requested as a core area of learning by national stakeholders and counterparts in the EaP member countries. For latest details about upcoming webinars and learning opportunities, check out our News and Events page.