The_Assessor_Spring 2026 web - Flipbook - Page 30
JOURNAL
FIEA REPORT
FIEA JANUARY
BOARD MEETING
Here is a report for The Assessors Journal from the IAEA’s FIEA Representative,
Alan Watling, from the Board Meeting on 30 January 2026, in Barcelona.
lan writes:
A
I was not able to attend
in person but attended
online instead.
The main objectives were to review
ongoing activities, prepare upcoming
statutory milestones, and discuss the
situation in certain member countries.
16 delegates were present and after
the preliminary introductions, the
President, Jacques Trassoudaine,
addressed the agenda of this four-hour
meeting.
THE FUNCTION OF THE
FEDERATION
It was reiterated that the FIEA is
昀椀rst and foremost a federation of
associations, created to structure an
international community of expert
automotive engineers. In this context,
the ongoing revision of the statutes
was con昀椀rmed as a priority, particularly
to clarify issues related to membership
categories, representation, and
governance. In view of this, the
Executive Committee has appointed a
member to review current terms and
recommend appropriate changes.
I have since provided the IAEA’s
Code of Conduct (published on the
IAEA website) to the FIEA, for their
reference.
GENERAL DISCUSSION
I advised in advance that if there
were to be a round table discussion
included in the agenda, I was willing
to contribute. I was therefore invited
to provide an overview of topical
information related to our profession in
the United Kingdom.
I explained that there were serious
concerns relating to modern LED
headlights, which were dazzling road
users and contributing to serious
and fatal incidents. Also, that the AA
and RAC have carried out their own
research prompting the government
to appoint TRL (Transport Research
30
Laboratory) to investigate and report
on these concerns.
from their seat runners on impact. MG
is conducting a recall on these models.
Figures released at the end of 2025
showed that hybrid cars had a
signi昀椀cantly higher fatality accident
rate to other cars. Data released
in December 2025 show that they
are involved in three times as
many fatal crashes as their petrol
predecessors and higher compared
to all electric, and diesel cars. There is
no clear reason why, or if this is to be
investigated.
I advised that the UK has a serious
pot-hole problem, which is
damaging an increasing number
of vehicles. According to the Royal
Automobile Club, in quarter 3 of
2025 they recorded a 25% increase in
breakdowns due to pot-hole damage,
compared to the same quarter in 2024.
The UK now has a National Pot-hole
Day, 15 January, where people are
invited to submit images of (their
favourite) pot-holes. One delegate said
that a National Pothole Day seemed to
be a very British concept.
I explained that the criteria for NCAP
crash testing changes each year as
safety technology becomes more
advanced and are graded 0 to 5 stars.
In recent tests, a signi昀椀cant number of
popular cars which had good ratings
previously, have since been reduced,
with some only achieving one star.
They include: Suzuki Swift (one of the
5 least safe cars in 2024), Hyundai
Venue (high centre of gravity and
occupants are 4.9 times more likely to
die in collision than an average car),
Jeep Wrangler 4XE (various power
related faults and 昀椀res), Kia Hybrids
(64,000 at risk, due to potential 昀椀res),
Renault Zoe (zero rating due to safety
features removed on the later models),
Jeep Avenger (biggest concern, is a
de昀椀ciency of its automatic emergency
braking), Toyota Camry Hybrid (50,000
at risk, due to bolt loosening in inverter
causing loss of power and possible
昀椀re).
At the other end of the scale, the Kia
Sportage received a 100% score for
its occupant rescue extraction. Other
high scorers also included the Porsche
911 for its wheel arch microphones,
night vision, 360° camera vision, and
dimming LED matrix headlamps, Skoda
Elroq (includes matrix headlamps
option and ‘area-view’ camera system),
Volvo EX30 & VW Golf (current model
is far superior to previous)
The 2024 onwards MG3 models have
recently failed the NCAP crash tests
due to the driver’s seats breaking away
Road markings are often in a very badly
worn state due to lack of maintenance
and reports suggest that one in six
drivers have experienced a near-miss
due to vanishing road markings.
There are serious concerns in the UK
about the safety of young drivers
and riders, particularly 17-24 year
old males, who are four times more
likely to be killed or seriously injured,
including their passengers. In Northern
Ireland, 17-23 year olds made up 24%
of those responsible for people killed
or seriously injured even though they
made up only 8% of all drivers. In view
of this, N Ireland of is to introduce
graduated licences in October 2026,
similar to those already in applied in
the USA, Australia and some European
countries.
Although permitted to drive from
the age of 16, restrictions in Australia
have had a more serious young
driver problem and now apply strict
restrictions which vary from state to
state. This includes not taking the
practical test within 6 months of a
provisional licence being issued, a
minimum or 120 hours of supervised
driving including 20 hours at night,
prohibiting driving between midnight
and 05.00, when most serious
accidents are likely to take place,
restrictions on the number and ages
of young passengers due to potential
THE ASSESSORS JOURNAL | SPRING 2026 | www.iaea-online.org/news/the-assessor
