Global NCAP Urges Auto Makers To Stop Building Sub-Standard Cars

Global NCAP has called on the automobile industry to stop making cars that fail to meet the minimum United Nations safety standards.

Speaking at the Annual Meeting of the Automotive Safety Council in Florida, USA (March 21st), David Ward, the Secretary General of Global NCAP, urged the industry to make a commitment to only build cars that can pass the UN’s front and side impact crash tests (UN Reg. 94 & 95). These tests have been mandatory in the European Union since 1998 and represent the minimum acceptable level of vehicle crashworthiness in most industrialised countries. According to Global NCAP of the record level of 65 million new passenger cars built last year as much as one third would fail the basic safety standards.

“It is disappointing” Ward told the ASC “that so far the automobile industry has yet to make a specific commitment to the UN Decade of Action. Establishing a harmonised global minimum construction standard by applying Reg. 94 & 95 would be a great initiative for the industry to make. It would create a level playing field for the industry, reduce costs through economies of scale and promote safety. It is time the auto industry showed some leadership in the UN Decade of Action” he said.

Also speaking at the ASC Annual Meeting was Global NCAP Board Member Adrian Lund of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. He gave an overview of future automotive safety trends, highlighting the transition from the “mature science of vehicle crashworthiness to the new science of crash avoidance”. Other speakers included Stephen Ridella of the US National Highway Traffic Administration, presented a summary of the US Government’s priority in automotive safety research and Mike Finkelstein, former Associate Administrator at NHTSA who explained how the agency manages its regulatory role.

The ASC was originally established in 1961 as the American Seat Belt Council and today the Council’s membership brings together the leading companies supplying safety products to the automotive industry. The Council is recognised as primary source for technical and educational data about automotive safety.

Click to download: ASC Annual Meeting 2014