INGENIEUR
There are several remarkable improvements in
car safety in Malaysia in which ASEAN NCAP was
either directly or indirectly involved, as explained
below:
● ●
OEM participation – A total of 20 automakers
(makes) have been involved in ASEAN NCAP
assessment, in which the majority were
through sponsored tests. This indicated their
willingness to partake in safety branding effort.
To date, ASEAN NCAP has published almost 90
ratings and eight out of ten cars sold in ASEAN
region have been assessed by ASEAN NCAP.
● ●
Improved base model safety specifications –
ASEAN NCAP has been able to elevate safety
specifications especially for the base models.
Such improvements include:
● ●
Cars without airbags (NAB) are no longer
available in the new car market. Some
are even equipped with minimum double
airbags (DAB & PAB).
● ●
4-Star trend – more than half of the
assessed cars in ASEAN NCAP achieved
4-Star in Adult Occupant Protection (AOP),
with all Honda models obtaining dual-
ratings (4- and 5-Star AOP due to the pre-
requisites of ESC).
● ●
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) which
was previously found in only the luxury car
segment, is now fitted in affordable cars
e.g. Proton Iriz, this also has made the Anti-
Lock Braking System (ABS) look obsolete.
● ●
More child safety features are installed by
OEMs e.g. ISOFIX and top tether. Results
of Child Occupant Protection (COP) proved
that these features do help increase child
safety in cars with a major difference in
test results between seatbelt only fitment
of child seat and those with ISOFIX and top
tether (or both).
● ●
More safety assist technologies (SATs)
other than ABS and ESC e.g. hill hold
assist, blind spot camera, reverse camera,
navigation system, etc. Safety package as
a whole is no longer seen as a luxury and is
within the majority of car users’ reach.
● ●
Competitively priced base models with safety
improvements – car prices in the country for
Proton and Perodua have not significantly
increased although they now come with better
body structure and safety equipment:
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● ●
● ●
● ●
Perodua Axia – The most affordable car
in Malaysia with 4-Star AOP (starting from
US$5,800).
Proton Iriz – The most affordable 5-Star AOP
car in Malaysia (starting from US$8,800)
with ESC being a standard fitment across
all variants.
High level achievement:
> > Nissan Teana – the first car in ASEAN
NCAP to achieve perfect score in AOP
(maximum 16 points) and also the first
car to have 5-Star in both AOP and COP
(COP 88% is the all-time record high to
date).
> > Honda participated with nine models,
including the replacement model for
Honda City 2014 with an improved
result in both AOP and COP.
CONCLUSION
Car buyers have benefited from NCAP, even though
it is safe to say that they still have limited influence
(pressure) over OEMs due to lack of knowledge
and/or advocacies.
REFERENCE
Mooren, L., Grzebieta, R., and Job, S., 2011.
Safe system – comparisons of this approach in
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College of Road Safety National Conference,
Melbourne.
Fox News Latino 2013. Cars manufactured in
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news/2013/05/12/cars-manufactured-in-brazil-
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Global NCAP, 2014a. Crash tests show India’s
cars are unsafe [Online]. Available from: www.
globalncap.org/crash-tests-show-indias-cars-are-
unsafe/ [Accessed 1 February 2014].
Khairil Anwar, A.K. and Zulhaidi, M.J., 2014.
ASEAN NCAP: Today and its future undertakings.
Journal of the Australasian College of Road Safety,
25(2): 44-49.
World Health Organization, 2011. Global Plan for
the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020
[Online]. Available from: www.roadsafetyfund.org/
UnDecadeOfAction/Documents/global_plan_
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