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Vehicle safety is global - Global NCAP

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safercar.gov<br />

NHTSA/U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong><br />

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE<br />

Washington, DC 20590<br />

USA<br />

T +1 888-327-4236<br />

crash.test@dot.gov<br />

The United States New Car Assessment Program (U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong>) <strong>is</strong> a flagship<br />

consumer information program of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s<br />

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin<strong>is</strong>tration (NHTSA).<br />

NHTSA pursues its m<strong>is</strong>sion of reducing motor vehicle crash-related<br />

deaths and injuries through Federal motor vehicle <strong>safety</strong> standards and<br />

other regulations. It also conducts consumer vehicle <strong>safety</strong> programs,<br />

including U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong>, which educates consumers about vehicle <strong>safety</strong><br />

and encourages manufacturers to produce vehicles that exceed minimum<br />

Federal <strong>safety</strong> requirements.<br />

U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong> began in 1978 with frontal crashworthiness testing and<br />

information, and has grown in scope since then. Today it uses a 5-star<br />

system to rate vehicles for frontal and side crashworthiness and rollover<br />

res<strong>is</strong>tance. The program was enhanced for the 2011 model year. It also<br />

recommends advanced crash avoidance technologies that meet U.S.<br />

<strong>NCAP</strong> criteria. U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong>-driven vehicle <strong>safety</strong> improvements have<br />

helped significantly reduce crash-related deaths and injuries in the U.S.<br />

CURRENT Programs<br />

U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong> provides consumers with a variety of vehicle <strong>safety</strong> ratings<br />

and information via its user-friendly website, www.safercar.gov. A <strong>safety</strong><br />

rating label <strong>is</strong> also required on the window sticker of all new vehicles.<br />

Th<strong>is</strong> gives consumers another source for U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong> ratings and<br />

ensures they have th<strong>is</strong> information at the point of sale. Each vehicle’s<br />

rating and <strong>safety</strong> information has several components:<br />

• In addition to full-frontal crashworthiness testing, U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong><br />

conducts two types of side-impact protection testing: one simulating<br />

a vehicle-to-vehicle coll<strong>is</strong>ion and the other simulating a vehicle-topole<br />

coll<strong>is</strong>ion. The crashworthiness testing incorporates both 50th<br />

percentile male and 5th percentile female dummies, and ratings are<br />

based on a wide range of injury criteria.<br />

• Rollover res<strong>is</strong>tance ratings are based on a vehicle’s static properties,<br />

along with a dynamic test.<br />

• An overall vehicle score combines the results of three crashworthiness<br />

tests and the rollover res<strong>is</strong>tance test into a single star rating for<br />

simple consumer compar<strong>is</strong>on.<br />

• As part of a new focus on crash avoidance technologies, U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong><br />

recommends electronic stability control, lane departure warning, and<br />

forward coll<strong>is</strong>ion warning systems that meet U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong> criteria.<br />

Separately, U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong> provides child restraint usability ratings to help<br />

consumers make informed purchasing dec<strong>is</strong>ions.<br />

fUTURE Plans<br />

Two areas will drive future U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong> enhancements:<br />

• Improvements in the <strong>safety</strong> performance of the U.S. vehicle fleet.<br />

When appropriate, U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong> will adjust its rating system to reflect<br />

improvements in the <strong>safety</strong> performance of the U.S. vehicle fleet,<br />

making it more difficult for a vehicle to achieve top ratings.<br />

• Analys<strong>is</strong> of real-world crash data to identify possible additional<br />

crash modes and additional advanced technologies to include in<br />

U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong>. Crash types other than frontal, side, and rollover crashes<br />

could be addressed. Also, as more advanced technologies are<br />

introduced in new vehicles, U.S. <strong>NCAP</strong> may consider new testing<br />

protocols for their evaluation.

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