Nation’s 5-Star Vehicle Safety Ratings Program Gets An Upgrade

New advanced driver assistance technologies and crashworthiness pedestrian protection are among the planned upgrades to the 5-Star Safety Ratings program, known as the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). The federal program evaluates how well vehicles perform in crash tests, including rollover risk, and provides a rating on a five-star scale to help consumers make knowledgeable choices on new vehicle purchases.

The planned improvements, developed to advance safety on the nation’s roads and reduce deaths and serious injuries, were announced on Monday by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

“This action today is another important step toward addressing the crisis on our roads and achieving the Department’s ambitious, long-term goal of zero road fatalities,” Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Transportation Secretary, said in a statement. “Like our move earlier this year to make automatic emergency braking standard on new passenger cars and light trucks, these changes to the 5-Star Safety Ratings will speed up adoption of technologies that reduce the frequency and severity of crashes while helping consumers make informed decisions about buying a new car.”

The goal, the federal agency said, is to help protect vehicle occupants, pedestrians and others outside a vehicle by emphasizing new and emerging safety technologies and features.

The safety update was included as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the agency noted.

Planned upgrades to the federal consumer information program include:

• The addition of four advanced driver assistance technologies designed to enhance crash-avoidance safety: pedestrian automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, blind spot warning and blind spot intervention.
• Updated testing procedures and performance criteria for advanced driver assistance technologies already included in NCAP, like automatic emergency braking.
• The addition of a crashworthiness pedestrian protection program to evaluate the ability of a vehicle’s front end to mitigate pedestrian injuries and fatalities in vehicle-to-pedestrian impacts.
• Midterm and long-term roadmaps to accommodate future updates over the next 10 years and technological advancements in vehicle safety, including crash avoidance and crashworthiness improvements to protect bicyclists and motorcyclists and an updated rating system.

“Our goal with NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings program has always been to help consumers choose safer vehicles and to encourage manufacturers to improve vehicle safety,” Adam Raviv, NHTSA chief counsel, said in a statement. “With these NCAP updates, we’re ensuring consumers have more useful and relevant information on the latest safety technologies and that the program keeps up with the pace of technological change and innovation.”

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Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, acknowledged the importance of the new measures for the nation’s road safety.

“We are pleased to see NHTSA finalize long overdue and much-needed upgrades to its 5-Star Safety Ratings program,” she said in a statement. “With over 42,000 fatalities and 2.38 million injuries from motor vehicle crashes in 2022 coupled with nearly 40 million vehicles subject to safety recalls in 2023, it is clear more must be done to achieve safer road users and safer vehicles.”

Chase added that NHTSA’s work is essential, but more resources are needed if it is to accomplish its mission of safeguarding the traveling public and addressing “this public health crisis on our roadways.”

For more information on the New Car Assessment Program, click here.