Witnessing an ANCAP crash test

Star ratings: they’ve been around for a long time, providing consumers with a simplified way to see how one product stacks up against another. Of all star ratings available, arguably none is as important as those attributed by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) to new vehicles denoting their safety characteristics. 

We’re in Sydney’s west at a facility ANCAP is using for a round of testing. Long runways framed by barriers, fluorescent lights and safety equipment reach towards large roller doors at their ends. Behind one is a wheeled rig designed to simulate a car and measure forces of an impact; behind the other is the new car it’s about to collide with at a combined speed of 100km/h. 

We’re in a mezzanine viewing room and the thickness of the room’s glass seems excessive. We can’t help but think the 50km/h each vehicle will be travelling is at the lower end of the speed limit range and almost inconsequential. 

A voice buzzes over a radio to confirm the test is commencing. Moments later the arena is awash with brightness emitted from floodlights to aid high-speed cameras in catching deformation of test vehicles in immense detail. The roller doors lift, exposing the rig and car inside their temperature-controlled rooms. They begin gliding towards each other in silence, dragged by in-ground pulley systems, which only makes the inevitable more pronounced. Even through glass that seemed unnecessarily thick moments earlier, the bang is loud enough to feel like a slap against the chest. 

We’ve just witnessed what’s called a frontal offset collision, a test designed to assess how a car performs in a standardised head-on impact with another vehicle. The test forms one of seven – with others including full-width frontal, side impact, far-side impact, oblique pole, pedestrian protection, and whiplash protection – that ANCAP conducts to simulate common real-world crashes and help tabulate a vehicle’s safety score. 

Technicians clear the crash site and we’re invited down to view results. It’s known that modern cars are designed to crumple, spreading deceleration over a longer period to lower peak forces, but the damage here still seems unbelievable for what many would consider a low-speed crash. My mind can’t help but wander back to the 70km/h Harbour Bridge crossing on my way to the lab with a new level of sombreness. 

The fundamental pillars of the ANCAP assessment have remained the same since its 1992 introduction. However, the program is always undergoing tweaks to keep up with technological advancements (such as autonomous safety features), which ensure real-world relevance. 

In recent times, the rollover test was removed because results were proving to not be indicative of real-world scenarios, and a vehicle submersion test (requiring electric doors and windows to still be operable after two minutes of submersion) was added in 2023. An increased focus for testing electric vehicles is also present, including how emergency rescue can safely cut through one while avoiding high-voltage cables. 

Looking to the future, ANCAP is set to up the number of vehicle categories it assesses. Some will involve heavy commercial vehicles such as freight trucks, and lighter passenger vehicles such as motorbikes. Talks of a global NCAP are also ongoing.