Autonomous tech to be rated by NCAP

Crash test body plans three-tier ranking system Designed to back-up existing five-star ratings ings

Crash test body to assess driver assistance systems

CARS featuring self-driving tech will be subject to new safety criteria from mid-2018, Auto Express can reveal.

Euro NCAP will introduce three new safety ratings – titled Basic, Advanced, and Superior. These will apply only to cars with autonomous tech on board and will complement the current five-star system. A new car would be given the usual rating out of five stars, with a supplementary Basic, Advanced or Superior judgement.

The new criteria are likely to become part of the Euro NCAP 2025 ‘road map’, which aims to reward cars with advanced driver assistance systems.

Matthew Avery, head of Thatcham Research – the UK crash test agency that works closely with Euro NCAP – told Auto Express that while full details of the new grades are still being ironed out, they would judge the “assistance, support and comfort” provided by features such as automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control.

“We’ll start by assessing assisted driving systems rather than automated driving systems,” Avery explained.

The new Basic rating is likely to be given to features that are currently judged effective by Euro NCAP’S recently updated assessment programme, with the Advanced award being given to cars exceeding those. A Superior grade would likely be reserved for models with cutting-edge assistance features.

Two systems likely to come under the new remit include adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance.

Avery said that once details of the new programme are confirmed, a lanekeeping system regarded as ‘Basic’ will be one that can keep the car in a single lane. An ‘Advanced’ one might change lanes for the driver when they indicate left or right.

Avery said while a five-star car would likely be able to achieve any one of the three new criteria, Euro NCAP and Thatcham haven’t yet decided if a four-star car will be eligible for assessment under the new rules.

“New Euro NCAP safety ratings will apply to cars with autonomous technology on board”