FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 7, 2019
CONTACT: Pete Daniels, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, 202-408-1711 or
301-442-2249, [email protected]
MEDIA ALERT: PRESS CONFERENCE
Upgrading the U.S. New Car Assessment Program (NCAP)
U.S. NCAP is out of date and outpaced by existing technology, and by NCAPs in other nations.
WHEN: Thursday, October 17, 10am EST
WHERE: Cannon House Office Building Room 421
LIVE Stream available by CLICKING HERE
Follow @SafeRoadsNow on Twitter for more info. about video of this event
WHO:
The Hon. Joan Claybrook
Former Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Board Member, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
David Ward
President & CEO, Global New Car Assessment Programme
Jack Gillis
Executive Director, Consumer Federation of America
Cathy Chase
President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
MORE INFORMATION:
Motor vehicle safety experts will mark the 40th anniversary of the U.S. New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and highlight the need to improve the outdated NCAP rating system.
As Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 1979, Joan Claybrook drove the effort to create NCAP, ushering in an era of improved safety transparency that has benefitted car buyers in the U.S. and around the world. NCAPs exist today in Australia, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Latin America and Southeast Asia, and are under development in India and Africa. In 2011, David Ward created Global NCAP in Great Britain to serve as a platform for cooperation among these programs. Opposed by most auto manufacturers at the outset, NCAP ratings, also known as “Stars on Cars,” are now featured prominently in commercials and are relied upon by consumers looking to make the safest choice for themselves and their families.
NCAP ratings were pioneered in the U.S., but the program has not kept up with the pace of safety innovations and lags behind international counterparts. The NTSB has issued recommendations for pedestrian collision avoidance systems and forward collision avoidance systems to be added to NCAP. Additionally, other lifesaving advanced vehicle technologies such as automatic emergency braking and lane departure warning are not accounted for in the U.S. rating system, but they are in Euro NCAP.
Furthermore, the vast majority of new cars on the market today are able to achieve four or five-star ratings, making it difficult for consumers to distinguish the safest cars from the rest. Join the event to learn why and how one of the most successful auto safety programs in the world could have a greater safety impact if it is updated and improved.
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