What are the standards for car collision testing?
Car collision testing is an important means of evaluating a car's safety performance, and different regions have their own unique collision testing standards. The following provides a detailed introduction.
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has a wide-reaching influence on its collision testing standards. Its test projects cover front-end collisions, side collisions, and pole impacts. In the front-end collision test, the vehicle is crashed into a deformable barrier at a speed of 64km/h with an overlap rate of 40%. Side collisions involve moving a barrier at a speed of 50km/h to crash into the side of the vehicle. The pole impact test involves crashing the vehicle into a rigid pole at a speed of 29km/h. Euro NCAP evaluates the vehicle's safety performance based on four aspects: adult protection, child protection, pedestrian protection, and safety assistance systems, ultimately awarding a star rating, with higher ratings indicating better safety performance.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States also has its own characteristics. Its collision testing includes front-end full-width collisions, side collisions, and rollover tests. Front-end full-width collisions involve crashing the vehicle into a rigid barrier at a speed of 56km/h. Side collisions involve moving a barrier at a speed of 62km/h to crash into the side of the vehicle. Rollover tests assess the vehicle's risk of rollover through dynamic testing and static testing. NHTSA also awards star ratings based on test results, with a maximum rating of five stars.
The China New Car Assessment Programme (C-NCAP) combines China's actual conditions to establish standards. Its front-end collision test involves crashing the vehicle into a rigid barrier at a speed of 50km/h. The front-end collision test with an overlap rate of 40% is crashed into a deformable barrier at a speed of 64km/h with an overlap rate of 40%. Side collisions involve moving a barrier at a speed of 50km/h to crash into the side of the vehicle. C-NCAP's evaluation system considers multiple aspects, including passenger protection, pedestrian protection, and proactive safety, ultimately presenting evaluation results in the form of star ratings.
To provide a more intuitive comparison, the following table is provided:
| Test Organisation | Front-end Collision Speed and Method | Side Collision Speed | Other Test Projects | Evaluation Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euro NCAP | 64km/h, 40% overlap rate crash into deformable barrier | 50km/h | Pole impact test (29km/h crash into rigid pole) | Star rating evaluation (adult, child, pedestrian protection, and safety assistance systems comprehensive evaluation) |
| NHTSA | 56km/h full-width collision with rigid barrier | 62km/h | Rollover test | Star rating evaluation |
| C-NCAP | 50km/h full-width collision with rigid barrier, 64km/h, 40% overlap rate crash into deformable barrier | 50km/h | None | Star rating evaluation (passenger, pedestrian protection, and proactive safety comprehensive evaluation) |
By understanding these collision testing standards, consumers can better evaluate a car's safety performance when purchasing and select more safe and reliable vehicles. Additionally, automakers will continually improve their vehicle's safety design based on these standards, driving up the overall safety level of the automotive industry.