Frequently Asked Questions
All you need to know about Euro NCAP
About EuroNCAP
What's the main purpose of Euro NCAP?
Firstly, Euro NCAP makes available to consumers independent information about a car's comparative safety rating in its class. Secondly, Euro NCAP acts as an incentive for manufacturers to improve the safety of their cars. Euro NCAP has been shown to have an important influence in improving road safety. There is evidence that improvements in vehicle safety have led to the greatest reduction in road accident casualties.
How does Euro NCAP stay truly independent?
Euro NCAP was set up by the Transport Research Laboratory, for the UK Department of Transport. Subsequently other governments have joined the programme (France, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands and the Catalonian part of Spain). Many Consumer Groups in Europe are members through International Consumer Research and Testing. Motoring clubs are represented by membership of the FIA Foundation and by the individual membership of the German motor club ADAC. The European Commission is an observing member of Euro NCAP's board and provides their political support.
This wide consortium of members ensures independence. Euro NCAP itself is an International Association under Belgian law. It is independent of the industry and political control and no individual member can bias Euro NCAP towards their individual interests. Euro NCAP is totally independent of the automotive industry.
How are Euro NCAP's requirements different from legislation?
All vehicles sold within the EU must pass minimum safety standards laid down in European Legislation. The frontal and side impact crash tests used by Euro NCAP are based on those used in European legislation. However, much higher performance requirements are used by Euro NCAP. The frontal impact speed used by Euro NCAP is 64 km/h compared 56 km/h for legislation.
Who funds the car models used in Euro NCAP tests?
Each member of Euro NCAP pays to have at least one car model tested each year. Car manufacturers can also request that their car is tested. In such circumstances, they pay for the testing. However, they have no control over the publishing of the results. Euro NCAP obtains the cars in a number of ways. In each case, care is taken to ensure that the cars are built to normal production standards. It is clearly important to ensure that we do not test cars which are specially prepared for us. Normally, the cars are paid for by the sponsor of the tests.
Are manufacturers involved in the tests?
Yes. Each manufacturer is told of the choice of car, variant and options. Preferably vehicles for the tests are acquired anonymously, but if this is not possible they are randomly selected. Manufacturers are asked to provide test set up information, to recommend child seats and to make any general comments. They are invited to witness the tests and to say whether they are satisfied with the way the test is run. After the test, they are given the test results and invited to comment on any anomalies when compared with their own data.
How effective has Euro NCAP been?
Euro NCAP has been responsible for a dramatic change to overall car safety. This is readily seen in how quickly manufacturers improve their safety equipment and the steps they take to do well in the tests. Real world injury studies carried out by SNRA (Swedish National Roads Administration) and SARAC (Safety Advisory Rating Committee) demonstrate a reduction in injury risk for every Euro NCAP star received.
How is the AA involved in Euro NCAP?
The AA was one of the founding partners of Euro NCAP. Together with other motoring organisations across Europe, the AA is now represented within Euro NCAP by the FIA.
About the tests
Why not use legislation to improve safety?
Legislation sets a minimum compulsory standard whilst Euro NCAP is concerned with best possible current practice. Progress with vehicle safety legislation can be slow, particularly as all EU Member States' views have to be taken into account. Also, once in place, legislation provides no further incentive to improve, whereas Euro NCAP provides a continuing incentive by regularly enhancing its assessment procedures to stimulate further improvements in vehicle safety.
Why are some cars tested with certain safety features when others are not?
Euro NCAP policy is to test the best selling version of a car model with the safety features which it has as standard in all 15 EU Member States, at the beginning of 2004, or those Member States into which the best selling version of the car is sold. If a manufacturer has optional equipment which is important for safety, they are allowed to pay for an additional test with the optional equipment. When rating the car Euro NCAP use the scores obtained by the 'standard' car in the tests. Over the coming years, Euro NCAP is phasing in these requirements to cover the 10 new Member States.
How were the tests arrived at?
The test procedures are based on those developed by the European Enhanced Vehicle-safety Committee (EEVC) for legislation, except the front impact speed is increased by 8 km/h so as to cover accident severity leading to most deaths and serious injuries. The pole test is based on standards developed in the US. Cars designed to do well in the Euro NCAP tests should offer improved protection in a wide variety of road accidents.
Why not carry out a wider range of tests?
It's the duty of manufacturers to design and test cars to meet the full range of accidents. The Euro NCAP tests cover an important range of accidents. A well-designed car will perform well in the Euro NCAP tests, and one that does badly is less likely to provide adequate protection in a real life crash.
Why not carry out a rear impact test?
Frontal and side impact crashes are the dominant causes of serious and fatal injuries. Rear impacts are frequent, but infrequently serious. The main problem relates to neck (Whiplash) and back strain. Euro NCAP is investigating tests to assess the level of Whiplash protection offered.
Why is the front impact test speed so high?
By carrying out frontal impact tests at 64km/h (about 40 mph) Euro NCAP simulates a car impacting a similar sized car where both cars are travelling at the same speed of 55 km/h. This speed has been shown by accident studies to address a high proportion of fatal and severe injury accidents.
Why isn't the test speed higher?
Accident research shows that carrying out frontal impacts at 64km/h speed covers a large proportion of the serious and fatal accidents which occur. Even if the maximum speed limit is 120 km/h, few accidents occur at such speeds and where they do, it is beyond current capabilities to provide protection for the car's occupants.
What's a Seat Belt Reminder?
A seat belt reminder system is a system alerting the driver by means of sound and visual indications when a seatbelt should be worn. The reminder signal should be loud and clear but not annoying. The target is to remind people, who accept the benefits of the seat belts, that they have not fastened their belt. The points awarded for systems that meet the protocol requirements are added to the overall points score which in turn generates the occupant protection star rating.
About the ratings
Can results be compared between groups?
No. Results should only be compared within the same group. The frontal testing method mirrors a crash between two similar sized cars. A heavier car or one with a higher structure will tend to have an advantage if it impacts a smaller car. The Euro NCAP results cannot be used to predict the outcome of such crashes.
What does a star with a strike-through indicate?
The car is awarded adult occupant protection stars based upon the number of points scored in the frontal and side impact tests. Where a star is struck through, this is done to highlight concern that there is a serious risk of life threatening injury in at least one vulnerable body region - head or chest for frontal impact and head, chest, abdomen or pelvis for side impact.
Does the rating also apply to the variant models?
If a certain model of car has been crash-tested by Euro NCAP, Euro NCAP's rating only applies to the variant tested, with the safety equipment fitted as standard. Euro NCAP does allow the generic advertising of a car model using the star rating but does not allow particular variants that have not been tested (estate variants of cars that were originally tested as saloons for example) to be advertised using the star rating.
How is the injury risk determined from crash data?
The injury risk is assessed using a number of sources including data from the dummy's instruments, examination of the high-speed film and examination of the car by crash investigation experts. As there is no instrumentation to measure injury risk in certain areas, adjustments are also made to take account of other potential dangers, including those to different sized occupants. The Euro NCAP assessment protocol is then applied to reach the rating for each adult occupant body region.
The safest car
Which of the cars tested is the safest?
For adult occupant protection a 5 star performance (out of a possible 5) in the tests is the most impressive. The safest car for pedestrian protection has achieved the maximum 4 stars (out of a possible 4).
Are large cars safer than small cars?
In frontal impacts between cars, the occupants of the heavier car or the one with higher structures tend to fare better than those travelling in lighter lower cars. As these effects are currently impossible to overcome, Euro NCAP only makes comparisons within size categories. The rating of a car within its size category is a function of the quality of its safety design.
Which of the cars tested would you buy?
Safety is an important factor but there are many others to be taken into account too when buying a car. In terms of choosing safety, start by deciding on the size and kind of car that meets your needs first then look for the best performers in that group.
Are new models automatically safer?
No. European safety standards have been in place since 1995, but despite this Euro NCAP is publishing results of NEW vehicle models which are only achieving 2 and 3 stars for the adult occupant rating.