UK motorists are being forced to pay an extra £2bn a year in crash repair bills due to the poor bumper design used by car manufacturers in their vehicles, a new study has revealed.
Tests carried out by motor insurance repair centre Thatcham found that the lack of an effective bumper in a vehicle could result in it being written-off as a result of an impact of just 6mph.
Thatcham crash tested ten top-selling cars, all brand new, at the front and rear to evaluate their bumper performance .
The tests found that just one of the 20 bumpers tested was deemed to be ‘good’, with eleven receiving the lowest ‘poor’ rating.
Included in the batch of the worst performing models were the Honda CR-V, Citroen 4 Picasso, Land Rover Freelander 2 and the Suzuki Swift.
Thatcham’s research manager, Matthew Avery, described the findings as a "ridiculous state of affairs".
"If only motorists could see for themselves the limited protection that some bumper systems are giving their vehicles, they might not buy them in the first place," she said.
"It is time manufacturers addressed this issue, not only would it knock more than £2bn from British bills – it would have a hugely beneficial impact on the environment with thousands of cars avoiding being written off."
