ANCAP to get even stricter in 2023

New cars will soon need to adhere to even stricter safety guidelines in order to achieve a maximum five-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

From 2023, ANCAP testing will include assessment of how easily occupants are able to escape a vehicle when it’s submerged (such as in flood waters), encouraging the use of systems that allow a car’s windows and doors to remain functional after being inundated by water.

ANCAP says car-makers will be required to demonstrate that a vehicle’s doors and electric windows can operate without battery power (from inside and outside) for up to 10 minutes following submergence, or fit a vehicle with “a method by which the vehicle occupant can open or break the side window to exit the vehicle”.

The independent vehicle safety assessor’s chief executive officer, Carla Hoorweg, says post-crash response is a critical element in ensuring survivability.

“While it is important never to deliberately enter flood waters in your vehicle, recent flooding events have again reminded us that flooding can unexpectedly take a vehicle and its occupants,” she said.

Hoorweg said ANCAP has moved on from its traditional crashworthiness focus to adopt a more ‘holistic’ view of vehicle safety, which will also put more emphasis on vulnerable road users from 2023.

That includes scoring new vehicles on technology to stop children from inadvertently being left in cars (child presence detection systems) and improved motorcycle detection systems.

“Of equal importance to having your child safely secured in an appropriate child restraint is the safety of the vehicle they’re travelling in,” said Hoorweg.

ANCAP says points will be awarded for detection systems that monitor the rear seats and doors, and notify the driver or emergency services of a child that may have been left in a locked car.

ANCAP will also assess new vehicles for their ability to avoid or minimise collisions with motorcycles using autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane support systems.

“Motorcycles can be more difficult to detect than cars or trucks, and these new tests will encourage improvements in avoiding collisions with these vulnerable road users.”

Around 20 per cent of road fatalities in Australia and New Zealand involve a motorcycle, says ANCAP, which will more closely monitor the effectiveness of active collision avoidance technologies in new cars from 2023.

The local auto safety authority says it will release more information on the incoming changes later this year.

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