Euro NCAP was established in 1997 and now backed by five European Governments it is fast becoming the premier authority on Automobile Safety within the European Union.

It is supported by motor organisations within the various member countries of the EU and (as they say) has rapidly become the catalyst for encouraging major improvements with regards to Automobile Safety and Design.

So it would appear that they have a rough idea of the plot, certainly one would hope so and I think in this case they do

For BMW their safest option (so to speak) was the 3 Series whilst for Citroen their safest vehicle was the Citroen C4.

For BMW the overall opinion was that the new 3-series achieved five stars (out of five) for protecting its adult occupants. Under crash simulation conditions the main body cell held up under pressure and protected all of its occupants. An intelligent seat belt system was in place and this meant that protection for Children was extremely good (4 stars out of 5)

With regards to the Citroen C4 the jury felt that it was a strong performing car deserving of its five star rating (out of five) for occupant protection. Again like the BMW the strong passenger cell protected the occupants well under pressure conditions. Again, like the BMW the protection for children was good with a four out of five rating overall.

This is probably not surprising but neither of the cars were that good when it came to protection for any pedestrians accidentally involved in any incident etc.

I suppose the moral of the story is try not to run into a BMW at speed if it is travelling the other way and you are a pedestrian. Funny, I could have told them that.

Matt Johnson of the joint sponsors of the study Auto Express said ?if the worst does occur to count on the road, you'll want to be in the homework will protect you and your family." Makes sense to me.

?Cars have got significantly safer over recent years thanks to these independent crash tests. A models safety rating is a major factor people consider when choosing a new car.?

?Many cars now score a full five stars [in eight categories]. But within this band some do better than others and our list separates out the very top performing cars.?

?These are the ones which Euro NCAP reckons offers the very highest level of safety for their class and is something car buyers should be aware of."

As had been discussed in the media, both sponsors of this study were concerned that safety is now of such paramount concern that it is essential that as many prospective buyers of cars are aware of safety issues overall.