ANCAP may crash trucks

The crash performance of medium-sized trucks and vans such as the Ford Transit, Isuzu NPR, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Volkswagen Crafter could soon be scrutinised by the independent safety testing body ANCAP.

ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) chief executive James Goodwin confirmed to motoring.com.au that a “scoping study” was at an early stage into a safety testing program for trucks with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) beyond 3.0 tonnes and up to 5.0 tonnes.

And he revealed ANCAP was leading the way on this investigation on behalf of other NCAP global bodies, including its closest crash-test partner Euro NCAP.

The study is expected to lead to a green or red light for the new test program within three months.

“In the automotive fleet there is no safety ratings for what we call medium trucks up to 5.0 tonnes,” Goodwin said. “We currently top out at vans about 3.0 tonnes.

“Vehicles like the big Transit, the Sprinter and the Crafter are out of our scope and I want to put them in.”

ANCAP has turned its attention to medium trucks because they are among the biggest selling vehicles it does not test. They can also come with a lower level of passive and active safety features than a passenger vehicle.

“When you look at the light vehicle fleet the top-selling unrated passenger vehicle fleet that is not on our radar is the Porsche Macan, but the most popular selling vehicle unrated is the Isuzu NPR,” explained Goodwin.

“So I would like to extend what we have done in the light vehicle fleet into the next segment.”

As of 2018, ANCAP’s full testing protocol aligns with Euro NCAP and requires as many as five vehicles to be crash tested, four of which are written off. It is also moving to conduct practical testing of driver assist systems such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB).

The scoping study will try to establish whether it is appropriate for ANCAP to apply its full testing regime to medium trucks, or whether a different approach would work.

“That’s what we are working on and we would be the first NCAP to develop it, but it is early days,” said Goodwin.

“We will investigate exactly what the segment is we are looking at; if we have a 5.0-tonne truck can the wall at the laboratories actually cope with it; are they represented in crashes and in what sort of numbers; what sort of vehicles are we talking about?

“Is it the five-vehicle approach or do we go a little easier and just do a frontal test? Essentially, we have to develop a whole new protocol.”

Only applying selected tests to medium trucks makes sense if ANCAP’s study shows that there are only certain safety issues.

For instance, medium trucks may be mostly responsible for pedestrian injuries and fatalities, which would prompt a focus on the pedestrian test and low-speed AEB.

“If the occupant of the truck isn’t being injured, but they are mowing down pedestrians accidentally then we need to look at a protocol that addresses the problem, not just automatically replicate the same template we have used for light vehicles,” said Goodwin.

ANCAP sees the potential expansion of its testing regime as an aid to fleet buyers, many of which have a five-star ANCAP requirement for their light vehicles and vans.

If it does go ahead, Goodwin suggests medium truck testing might ramp up over time.

“It might start with some advocacy, highlighting the performance of a good one and a bad one … but ideally we’d like to get into the consumer education role like we have done with cars.”

An audit of the leading players shows the NPR comes with dual airbags and electronic stability control (ESC), the Transit 470E with front, front-side and curtain airbags and ESC, the Sprinter van with dual airbags and ESC and the new Crafter Runner 3.5-tonne van with front and front-side airbags, ESC and low speed AEB. Higher-GVM Crafters arrive in July.