A New Car Assessment Program (or Programme) is a government car safety program tasked with evaluating new automobile designs for performance against various safety threats.
A New Car Assessment Program (or Programme) is a government car safety program tasked with evaluating new automobile designs for performance against various safety threats.
The first NCAP was created in 1979, by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This program was established in response to Title II of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972, to encourage manufacturers to build safer vehicles and consumers to buy them. Over time, the agency improved the program by adding rating programs, facilitating access to test results, and revising the format of the information to make it easier for consumers to understand. [1] NHTSA asserts the program has influenced manufacturers to build vehicles that consistently achieve high ratings. [1]
The first standardized, 35 mph front crash test was May 21, 1979, and the first results were released October 15 that year. The agency established a frontal impact test protocol based on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 (“Occupant Crash Protection”), except that the frontal 4 NCAP test is conducted at 56 km/h (35 mph), rather than 48 km/h (30 mph) as required by FMVSS No. 208.
The European program, Euro NCAP, was founded in 1997 by the Transport Research Laboratory for the UK Department for Transport and backed by several European governments, as well as by the European Union. [2] Based in Brussels, Belgium, the European program was modeled on the American program. [1] Other areas with similar programmes include Australia and New Zealand with ANCAP, [3] Latin America with Latin NCAP and China with C-NCAP. [4] Plans for a Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program for India have been discussed, but as an interim, Global NCAP has been performing consumer crash tests on popular Indian models, as part of its Safer Cars for India research project. [5] Similarly, Global NCAP conducts crash tests in South Africa, under its Safer Cars for Africa project. In Russia, the AutoReview Car Assessment Programme (ARCAP) has been conducting consumer crash tests but is not recognised as an NCAP and often uses subjective evaluation methods on a case-to-case basis. [6]
In the 2000s, the American agency sought to improve the dissemination of NCAP ratings and as a result of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU). It did so by issuing a Final Rule requiring manufacturers to place NCAP star ratings on the Monroney sticker (automobile price sticker). The rule has a September 1, 2007 compliance date. [7]
In 2022, under the Infrastructure Law and reacting to recommendations from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the American agency introduced a new proposal for updating its version of NCAP. The proposal included four new technologies in driver assistance - Blind spot monitoring and intervention, electronic lane-keeping, and computerized emergency braking systems protecting pedestrians. This was the first time NCAP addressed the safety of individuals outside of a vehicle. The proposal also makes provision for a 10-year road map to keep up with the latest innovation and technology. [8]
In June 2022, the US NCAP received criticism from the National Transportation Safety Board which considers that the 5-Star Safety Rating Program that Americans use “fails consumers” by not including collision avoidance system and other technologies. When compared to the European Euro NCAP, the NHTSA rating system lacks forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems, lane departure warnings, Lane departure warning systems, driver monitoring systems, and other active and passive component designed to also protect pedestrians and bicyclists, according to NTSB point of view. [9]
Different NCAPs are:
| Name | Abbreviation | Founded | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States New Car Assessment Program | US NCAP (U.S. NCAP) | 1978 | Washington, DC, USA |
| Insurance Institute for Highway Safety | IIHS | 1959, Ratings from 1995 | Arlington, VA, USA |
| Australasian New Car Assessment Program | ANCAP | 1993 | Canberra, Australia |
| Japan New Car Assessment Programme | JNCAP | 1995 | Tokyo, Japan |
| European New Car Assessment Programme | Euro NCAP | 1996 | Leuven, Belgium |
| Korean New Car Assessment Programme | KNCAP | 1999 | Seoul, South Korea |
| China – New Car Assessment Programme | C-NCAP | 2006 | Tianjin, China |
| Latin New Car Assessment Programme | Latin NCAP | 2010 | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asia | ASEAN NCAP | 2011 | Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia |
| Global New Car Assessment Programme | Global NCAP | 2011 | London, Great Britain |
| Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program | Bharat NCAP | 2017 | Pune, India |
| Green NCAP (operated by Euro NCAP for emissions) | Green NCAP | 2019 | Leuven, Belgium |
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A crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness and crash compatibility for various modes of transportation or related systems and components.
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The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are regulations in the United States, first enacted by the United States Congress in 1975, after the 1973–74 Arab Oil Embargo, to improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks produced for sale in the United States.
The European New Car Assessment Programme is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in February 1997. It was originally started by the Transport Research Laboratory for the UK Department for Transport, but later backed by several European governments, as well as by the European Union. Their slogan is "For Safer Cars".
An advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) is any of a groups of electronic technologies that assist drivers in driving and parking functions. Through a safe human-machine interface, ADAS increase car and road safety. ADAS use automated technology, such as sensors and cameras, to detect nearby obstacles or driver errors, and respond accordingly. ADAS can enable various levels of autonomous driving, depending on the features installed in the car.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation. It describes its mission as "Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes" related to transportation safety in the United States.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a U.S. nonprofit organization funded by auto insurance companies, established in 1959 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It works to reduce the number of motor vehicle traffic collisions, and the rate of injuries and amount of property damage in the crashes that still occur. It carries out research and produces ratings for popular passenger vehicles as well as for certain consumer products such as child car booster seats. It also conducts research on road design and traffic regulations, and has been involved in promoting policy decisions.
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The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) is a car safety performance assessment programme based in Australia and founded in 1993. ANCAP specialises in the crash testing of automobiles sold in Australia and the publishing of these results for the benefit of consumers. ANCAP provides consumers with transparent advice and information on the level of occupant and pedestrian protection provided by different vehicle models in the most common types of crashes, as well as their ability—through technology—to avoid a crash.
An automobile safety rating is a grade given by a testing organisation to a motor vehicle indicating the safety of occupants in the event of a motor vehicle crash, like with the New Car Assessment Program.
A collision avoidance system (CAS), also known as a pre-crash system, forward collision warning system, or collision mitigation system, is an advanced driver-assistance system designed to prevent or reduce the severity of a collision. In its basic form, a forward collision warning system monitors a vehicle's speed, the speed of the vehicle in front of it, and the distance between the vehicles, so that it can provide a warning to the driver if the vehicles get too close, potentially helping to avoid a crash. Various technologies and sensors that are used include radar (all-weather) and sometimes laser (LIDAR) and cameras to detect an imminent crash. GPS sensors can detect fixed dangers such as approaching stop signs through a location database. Pedestrian detection can also be a feature of these types of systems.
The Latin New Car Assessment Programme is an automobile safety assessment programme for Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 2010, it offers independent information to consumers about the safety levels of new cars in the market. Latin NCAP tests are based in international renown methodologies, with vehicles awarded with a safety rating between 0 and 5 stars, indicating the protection the cars offer to adult and child occupants. The programme started as a joint initiative and in 2014 it was established as an association under a legal entity framework.
The Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program, usually known as the Bharat NCAP, is a proposed New Car Assessment Program for India. Cars sold in the country will be assigned by star ratings based on their safety performance. It will be implemented in phases, according to the plans being drawn up by the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project. It is the 10th NCAP in the world and is being set up by the government of India.
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Charles Adrian Hobbs is a safety expert in vehicle crashworthiness with a background in accident and injury investigation, and analysis.
ARCAP is an automobile safety assessment program founded by the Russian car magazine Autoreview. It was Russia's first independent rating for the passive safety of a car, presenting itself as the local edition of the Euro NCAP program. It also provides exclusive test results on some models not marketed in Europe or North America, such as AvtoVAZ vehicles.
The GlobalNew Car Assessment Programme is a project of the Towards Zero Foundation, a UK-registered charity. The programme aims to promote the sale of safer cars in developing markets by empowering consumers with objective information about the safety of vehicles. Global NCAP supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the target to halve road deaths and injuries by 2030, and the full implementation of the Global Plan for the UN's Decade of Action for Road Safety especially the recommended activities for vehicles.
Today, safety is not only about crashworthiness, but increasingly about crash avoidance, (...) Yet many of these life-saving technologies the NTSB has been recommending for decades are not included in the 5-Star Rating Program. How is it possible that a car in the U.S. with none of the currently available collision-prevention technologies could get a top rating? It’s unacceptable. (...) Technologies that the European Union started to mandate this year, that Euro NCAP is starting to rate next year, and that the NTSB has been recommending be required for years, are only now starting to be considered by NHTSA. The NCAP program will not fulfill its purpose of informing consumers unless NHTSA can keep pace with the emergence and development of safety technologies.