Bharat New Car Assessment Programme : First Round Of Crash Testing
The first round of crash testing of the cars under the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) has been successfully completed recently.
- It is an indigenous star-rating system for crash testing cars,under which vehicles will be assigned between one to five stars, indicating their safety in a collision.
- Bharat NCAP is an ambitious joint project between the Government of India (GoI) and Global NCAP, the regulatory body behind the safety crash test ratings.
- Objective is to help consumers make an informed decision before purchasing a car, thereby spurring demand for safer cars.
- Under the Bharat NCAP, cars voluntarily nominated by automobile manufacturers will be crash tested as per protocols laid down in the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197.
- The programme is applicable to passenger vehicles with not more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, with a gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3,500 kg.
- Only the base model of a particular variant will be tested.
- Besides internal combustion engine (ICE) models, CNG cars as well as battery-powered electric vehicles are eligible to undergo the safety test.
- Vehicles tested under the Bharat NCAP are evaluated across three critical safety domains: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, and safety assist technologies.
- The test program is based on the AIS-197 standards. The selected test units will be sent to the nearest testing centre in coordination with the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT).
- Each car will go through five key tests: frontal impact, side impact, side pole impact, electronic stability control, and pedestrian-compliant front design.
- The tests will be performed with crash dummies and will also rate the safety features of cars.
- Following these tests, cars receive a rating of one to five stars, reflecting their safety performance.
- In contrast to Global NCAP’s separate Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and Child Occupant Protection (COP) ratings, Bharat NCAP will offer a unified rating.
- It is a voluntary programme under which the cost of the car for assessment for star rating and the cost of such assessment are borne by the respective vehicle manufacturer or importer.
- There will be a Bharat NCAP Authority in India. The authority will also host the safety ratings of all new car models on a website for public knowledge.
- The central government can also ask the authority to select a particular variant of a model for assessment “in interest of public safety” at any of the designated crash test centres.
