The US Transportation Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced significant updates to its 5-Star Safety Ratings program, known as the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), as reported in a press release on Nov. 18.
These updates aim to enhance road safety in the US by implementing new advanced driver assistance technologies, establishing a pedestrian protection program in crashworthiness, and outlining a future roadmap for the program's evolution over the next decade. The improvements are part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and reflect a broader effort to reduce road fatalities, as emphasized by US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The initiative aligns with earlier efforts to standardize automatic emergency braking in new vehicles.
The revised NCAP will focus on technology and vehicle safety features that protect both vehicle occupants and pedestrians. Noteworthy enhancements include the integration of four new advanced driver assistance technologies: Pedestrian automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, blind spot warning and blind spot intervention. Additionally, the update strengthens testing procedures and performance criteria for existing safety technologies such as automatic emergency braking and introduces a program to assess vehicles' front-end designs for pedestrian injury and fatality reduction in impacts. The program's midterm and long-term roadmaps also project future updates, covering crash avoidance and crashworthiness improvements for bicyclists and motorcyclists, along with an updated rating system.
NHTSA Chief Counsel Adam Raviv highlighted the goal of the 5-Star Safety Ratings program to assist consumers in selecting safer vehicles and to motivate manufacturers to enhance vehicle safety. This latest iteration of NCAP is crucial for the department's National Roadway Safety Strategy, aiming to decrease serious injuries and fatalities on US roads.
NCAP serves as the NHTSA's principal consumer information initiative, evaluating vehicle safety performance through various crash tests and assigning an objective five-star rating scale. This system is designed to help consumers make educated decisions when purchasing vehicles by providing transparent and relevant information on vehicle safety technologies and their effectiveness.
