NCAP: Towards a safer transport

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"Safety brings first aid to the uninjured" 

 

This has come into the light recently as people and companies have become more aware of safety rather than just focusing on features and vehicle dynamics.

 

In the present world scenario, transport is necessary, and so is safety. For many decades, Automobile companies have been trying to make their cars safe and robust, but they needed a standard to adhere to while setting up a benchmark for vehicle safety, according to which the vehicles of various companies and segments could be accessed on safety parameters.

 

Comes, NCAP! The New Car Assessment Programme has aided in not only setting benchmarks but also has emerged as a great comparing standard when it comes to safety and strength.

 

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. NHTSA asserts the program has influenced manufacturers to build vehicles that consistently achieve high ratings.

 

NCAP


The first standardized, 35 mph front crash test was May 21, 1979, and the first results were released on 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. Based in Brussels, Belgium, the European program was modelled on the American program. Other areas with similar programmes include Australia and New Zealand with ANCAP, Latin America with Latin NCAP and China with C-NCAP.

The Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP) is being planned for India.

 

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

Brussels, 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

BNVSAP

2017

tbd

Green NCAP (operated by Euro NCAP for emissions)

Green NCAP

2019

Brussels, Belgium

 

 

The safety ratings of some of the Indian cars according to Global NCAP are shown in the table below.

 

Car

Passenger Safety

Child Safety

Mahindra Thar

4

4

Kia Seltos

3

2

Tata Tigor

4

3

Mahindra XUV 300

5

4

Tata Altroz

5

3

Tata Nexon

5

3

Maruti Wagon R

2

2

Maruti Swift

2

2

Maruti Vitara Brezza

4

2

 

We notice Tata's tremendous efforts in improving the safety of their vehicles namely: Tigor, Tiago, Nexon and Altroz. Conversely, there is a low star rating in the cars of Maruti, the market leader in India, but Maruti too is working to improve the safety and product quality which has resulted in a good 4 star safety rating in its Vitara Brezza.

 

 

Lets have a glance on one of the best NCAPs, which is also accepted in other countries, other that Europen countries.

 

 

Euro NCAP

 

European New Car Assessment Programme


Type

Voluntary Non-Profit

Industry

Automotive Safety

Founded

December 1996

Headquarters

Leuven, Belgium

Number of locations

8 Facilities

Area served

Europe

Services

Consumer Information

Website

euroncap.com

 


The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment program (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) 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".

 

2020 Test Procedures


Mobile progressive deformable barrier

The test car is propelled at 50 km/h (31 mph) into a moving deformable barrier mounted on an oncoming 1400 kg trolley, also travelling at 50 km/h at a 50% overlap. This represents hitting a mid-size family car. Two adult male THOR-50M dummies are seated in the front and two child dummies are placed in the back. The aim is to assess the crumple zones and the compatibility of the test car.


Full width rigid barrier

The test car is driven into a rigid barrier with full overlap at a speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). A small female dummy is seated in the driving position and in the rear seat. The aim is to test the car's restraint system, such as airbags and seat belts.

Mobile side impact barrier

A deformable barrier is mounted on a trolley and is driven at 60 km/h (37 mph) into the side of the stationary test vehicle at a right angle. This is meant to represent another vehicle colliding with the side of a car.


Side pole

The car is propelled sideways at 32 km/h (20 mph) against a rigid, narrow pole at a small angle away from perpendicular to simulate a vehicle travelling sideways into roadside objects such as a tree or pole.


Far side impact

The body in white (frame) of the vehicle is attached to a sled is propelled sideways to provide accelerations experienced by the vehicle in the side and pole tests, but on the far side of the vehicle. The far side testing was implemented in 2020 to help combat far side injuries (where the driver is struck from the opposite side). The ‘excursion’ of the dummy - the extent to which the dummy moves towards the impacted side of the vehicle - is measured.

If the vehicle is equipped with centre airbags then a co-driver (front passenger) is added in either the mobile side impact or the pole test to evaluate its effectiveness.


Whiplash

The vehicle seat is propelled forwards rapidly at both 16 and 24 km/h (9.9 and 14.9 mph) to test the seat and head restraint's capabilities to protect the head and neck against whiplash during a rear impact.

Vulnerable road users (pedestrians & cyclists)

Head Impact

Upper Leg Impact

Lower Leg Impact

AEB Pedestrian

AEB Cyclist

Safety Assist

AEB car-to-car

Occupant status monitoring

Speed assistance

Lane Support

 

Rescue and Extrication

How easy it is for first responders to extricate the occupant and how well eCall performs after a collision.

 

Ratings

Euro NCAP's ratings consist of percentage scores for Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Vulnerable Road Users and Safety Assist and are delivered in the overall rating of stars, 5 being the best and 0 being the worst.

 

5 star safety: Overall excellent performance in crash protection and well equipped with comprehensive and robust crash avoidance technology

4 star safety: Overall good performance in crash protection and all round; additional crash avoidance technology may be present

3 star safety: At least average occupant protection but not always equipped with the latest crash avoidance features

2 star safety: Nominal crash protection but lacking crash avoidance technology

1 star safety: Marginal crash protection and little in the way of crash avoidance technology

0 star safety: Meeting type-approval standards so can legally be sold but lacking critical modern safety technology

 

Lastly, I would like to comment to the general public, that one must be open to learn good practices while driving such as using indicators, proper lane changing, and having a seat belt on.

People usually ignore their part, believing that the safety features will save him, but one must be very aware of some basic and important practices during driving. Remember, a lot of the people who keep a gun at home for safety are the same ones who refuse to wear a seat belt!

Please comment which NCAP you assume is the most strictest and safest?

 

Top 10 Global NCAP crash tested cars in India: 


 


 

Please visit my blog:

https://pranavlama8.blogspot.com/?m=1

Read my blog on Compact SUV: India’s favourite segment:

https://pranavlama8.blogspot.com/2021/02/compact-suv-indias-favourite-segment.html?m=1


- Pranav Verma

 

 

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