This spotlight series is dedicated to showcasing the best practices shared by ESRC members. Each month, we highlight a different member’s innovative road safety initiative. By presenting these success stories, we aim to create a collaborative environment where others can recognise, celebrate and adopt lessons learned and best practices.
Our January spotlight features the project, ‘Euro NCAP Safer Trucks Programme,’ established by Euro NCAP in the EU (with the organisation based in Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium). The project aims to improve the safety performance of heavy trucks across Europe by encouraging the adoption of advanced technologies and standards that help prevent, manage and reduce the severity of road crashes.
Why has this initiative been recognised as Good Practice of the Month?
This initiative stands out for its collaborative approach to improving road safety in the high-risk heavy goods vehicle sector. By using voluntary, market-based safety ratings, the initiative incentivises manufacturers and fleet operators to adopt life-saving technologies while aligning commercial value with public safety. Its combination of technical credibility, active stakeholder engagement, including partners such as Trafikverket and major original equipment manufacturers, as well as international alignment, has fostered shared ownership of safety goals across the sector. Scalable and adaptable, the programme provides a replicable model for improving truck safety globally through clear benchmarks, public-private collaboration, and transparent assessment
Key inspiration behind the initiative
The project was driven by the growing safety risks posed by the increasing number of heavy truck vehicles (HGVs) on Europe’s roads. Although trucks represent only a small fraction of the vehicle fleet, they are involved in a disproportionately high number of fatal crashes, making it difficult to achieve Vision Zero without addressing truck safety. With global freight demand predicted to triple by 2050, Euro NCAP saw an urgent need to promote safer vehicles and technologies within the trucking sector. The Safer Truck Programme was developed to encourage fleet managers to adopt advanced safety systems that reduce crashes while also delivering economic benefits.
Project activities:
Launched in 2024 with results from nine trucks, the programme introduces the first safety ratings for heavy trucks, providing a trusted benchmark for manufacturers, fleet operators and regulators. The initiative is built on Euro NCAP’s multi-stakeholder model, collaborating with governments, consumer groups, insurers, laboratories and transport agencies, alongside OEMs and major truck manufacturers. Key activities include:
- Developing test protocols and safety benchmarks for active, passive and post-crash protection.
- Evaluating trucks across multiple collision scenarios, including frontal, lane departure, and low-speed manoeuvring.
- Promoting the adoption of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and the CitySafe rating, which evaluates technologies that enhance driver vision and protect vulnerable road users, including preventing junction crashes with cyclists.
- International knowledge exchange, including with partners in China, to promote global alignment on truck safety standards and encourage broader adoption of best practices beyond Europe
Complementing technical testing, Euro NCAP also conducts wide-reaching public awareness efforts through media outreach, demonstrations and participation in transport safety events. The programme operates in multi-year cycles with updated evaluations every three years to ensure continuous improvement and alignment with technological progress.
Outcomes of the initiative
The Safer Trucks Programme has achieved strong early impact by establishing the first comprehensive, multi-stage safety rating system for heavy vehicles, which has already influenced manufacturers to innovate across active, passive and post-crash safety and encouraged fleet operators to integrate Safer Trucks ratings into procurement decisions. The initiative has strengthened engagement across Europe, attracting new Euro NCAP members and prompting organisations such as Sweden’s Trafikverket to commit to embed the ratings into national road safety strategies.
Media coverage, social media engagement and stakeholder feedback indicate that the programme is shaping fleet procurement decisions, raising public awareness, and creating a growing ‘market for safety’ with some manufacturers actively promoting their five-star ratings. Early evaluations suggest reductions in crash severity and improved urban safety performance, particularly where direct vision and vulnerable road user protection are critical.
Although challenges remain, such as diverse truck use cases and industry concerns over cost, the programme’s collaborative approach and clear communication of long-term benefits have helped overcome these barriers, resulting in measurable progress towards safer trucks, improved urban safety performance, and stronger alignment between industry, authorities and international partners.
For more information
Read more about the project here – explore the project’s activities and outcomes in further detail.
If you want to develop a similar strategy at a national level, contact the project lead, Cordelia Wilson at media@euroncap.com
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