What IS ANCAP: 5 Star safety explained
For over 20 years, ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Programme) has been testing new cars for safety and crash performance. ANCAP, and its European counterpart, EuroNCAP, now have identical requirements therefore can share results. That means Australian cars and European cars are judged against the same criteria.
Each year, new cars are tested, or in some cases retested, as safety features become more widely available and datestamps updated.
Testing is assessed against 4 “pillars”: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, Safety Assist. The ANCAP website details
To achieve a 5 star rating across the range of a particular model, the base model has to be as safe as the top model.
Date Stamp:
All crash tests are now date stamped. Buyers are able to assess their needs by comparing against the criteria for that year. The ANCAP website lists all ratings listed in a searchable matrix.
Significantly,91% of fleet buyers have a selection policy. Many require a 5 star rating that is no older than 3 years. Vehicles with ratings older than 3 years would not be in consideration.
OH&S deem the car a work place, therefore becomes part of the employers duty of care.
This applies not just to truck drivers and couriers, but professionals such as doctors and nurses and sales reps who travel from job to job. In fact anyone who drives as part of their employment would fall in to this category.
Ratings will now be valid for 6 years only, after which they would then be eligible for retesting to current year protocols.
The average age of a vehicle on Australian roads is 10 years. Any of those not retested would not have a current rating.
Crash Tests:
The current crash test awareness campaign running on commercial TV shows 2 Toyota Corollas hurtling towards each other. One is 20 years old, and the other is a 2015 model.
The 20 year old car is demolished. All occupants would have suffered catastrophic injuries and are unlikely to have survived.
The 2015 car was a different story. It too was a write off, but all occupants would probably have been able to walk away. Airbags deployed, and the passenger cell remained intact.
That ad was created in the Crashlab, but similar results can happen during testing.
A recent test award just 1 Star to Jeep Wrangler. It performed particularly badly in crash tests where the floor was ripped apart. The cabin was so badly compromised that occupants would have been unlikely to survive.
Crash tests mimic real-life situations in a way that is repeatable. Every vehicle tested is rated in an identical way.
Each assessment costs $490,000 plus 5 cars. That’s an expensive exercise if the vehicles are luxury Rolls Royces at a million each.
Tests include: full front, offset front, side impact, oblique pole, and pedestrian impact. Whiplash tests are conducted separately using a seat on a rig.
Other tests:
Further criteria include....
