Global NCAP urges 12 global carmakers to harmonise with UN’s new vehicle safety regulations

Welcoming the UN General Assembly’s recognition of the vital contribution that crash avoidance technologies can play in reducing road fatalities and injuries, international automotive safety watchdog Global NCAP has written to top global carmakers, urging them to adopt minimum safety requirements to align with UN’s latest resolution to halve road deaths and injuries by 2020.

On April 15, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which represents the strongest ever commitment on road safety made by UN Member States.

The resolution supports the ambitious road safety targets now included in the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and also the Global Plan of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) which provides an integrated and holistic framework for road injury prevention.

In line with this, Max Mosley, chairman, Global NCAP, has sent out letters to a total of 12 carmakers including Asian manufacturers like Honda Motor Co, Hyundai Motor Co, Suzuki Motor Corp, Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor to consider adopting policies and measures to implement United Nations’ vehicle safety regulations or equivalent national standards to ensure that all new motor vehicles meet applicable minimum regulations for occupant and other road users protection, with seatbelts, airbags and active safety systems fitted as standard. The other eight global carmakers are Mercedes-Benz, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford Motor Co, General Motors, Renault Group, Volkswagen AG and Groupe PSA.

In 2013 as well, Global NCAP wrote to the leaders of the major car manufacturers to propose that the automotive industry consider adopting a voluntary global initiative to improve the minimum safety standards of new passenger cars sold worldwide.

This followed the precedent of the commitment made by industry leaders in 2006 to ensure that seatbelts would be fitted in all models worldwide by 2008.

However, despite the watchdog’s encouragement, car manufacturers have not so far made any new joint global safety voluntary commitment and, according to Global NCAP, some manufacturers continue to produce new cars and even launch new models that fail the UN’s minimum front and side impact standards and are rated as only zero stars in typical crash tests carried out by New Car Assessment Programmes (NCAPs).

“In our view the introduction of sub-standard and unsafe vehicles is entirely unacceptable and risks reputational damage to the car industry as a whole. To avoid such a negative outcome, Global NCAP believes now would be an ideal time for automobile manufacturers to make a commitment that all new cars will pass the most important UN vehicle safety regulations according to the timetable suggested in our Road Map 2020,” Global NCAP said in a press statement.

With increasing awareness and regulatory push, passenger car safety is coming to the fore globally, but India still seems to lag behind on this aspect of paramount importance. India leads in terms of road accident-related deaths in the world with over 141,500 fatalities in 2014 alone. Despite this hoary statistic, most entry level cars sold in India up until recently were devoid of life-saving technologies like airbags and ABS. Even now, these features are optional fitment (at an additional cost) in most cars and not standard equipment.

With the new regulations under the Bharat New Vehicle Assessment Programme (BNVSAP) for side and frontal crash tests slated to come into effect from April 2017, manufacturers in India have embarked upon the process of standardising safety equipment. However, much more needs to be done and hopefully manufacturers in India and abroad would pay heed and come on board for safer motoring in the future.